The Heights of Londo [IC 4: Turnabout Trainers]

[tgva8889]

Alyssa looks over at Leah when she speaks, then follows her pointing to the building. Nodding, she turns back. "Yeah, let's go see what's in there." Looking at Leah, her smile fades a bit She takes her other hand so she's holding both of Leah's hands and turns her head a bit to the side. "You doing okay?"

[Comissar]

Leah nods, glancing down then back up, "Y-yeah, just, uh, just a bit homesick." She gives an embarrassed smile, "I, uh, I used to go to places like this a lot with, uh, with my friends. It just, uh, it just makes me miss them a bit. But I'm ok."

She gives Alyssa's hands a grateful squeeze, then releases one of them so that they can head inside.

[Hazuki]

The interior of the larger building greets the girls with controlled temperature and a considerably more organized shopping space, with a circle of stalls at the center and an array of storefronts to either side. There are some brands that Leah recognizes, even, although their prices are increased to go along with it. There's a collection of Unovan model wear, with advertisements featuring the ultra-slender Elesa herself. A small shop that seemed to make customizable Pokeballs, which Nika gives the side-eye as they walk past. And one in particular is marked with the sign "Bargains From Beyond The Sea", which currently seems to have a surplus of Team Flare-themed gear, with crimson suits and sunglasses, tracksuits, skirts, all finely made and no doubt cheap thanks to the group's forced disbandment in Kalos.

When it comes to bags, Alyssa spots one at the Bargains from Beyond the Sea storefront, which has purses and courier bags either red with a white flame symbol or white with a red flame symbol. There's a selection of cute Pokemon-themed bags especially for carrying eggs, with special heating components, in the image of Pokemon such as Slugma and Miltank. And there's one that seems to be selling replicas of bags carried by renowned trainers, including Champions like Cynthia and Regional Heroes like Leaf.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods to Leah and smiles. "Okay."

Once they make it inside, Alyssa takes a moment to absorb her surroundings before she moves forward. She takes things slow, looking at products from afar and trying not to look too interested until she decides that she might want it. The host of goods and advertising makes her nervous at first, but when she gets to the bags she gets a bit closer and looks more in detail. Looking over at Leah, she points to the egg-holding bags. "How much d'you think this helps?"

[Comissar]

Seeing the other two taking their time walking around, Leah also takes a slower pace. Her gaze doesn't linger on the higher end products as she automatically dismisses them as being outside her price range. Instead, she takes an interest in the more mundane items of clothing. The cheapness of the Team Flare clothing in particular caught her by surprise. While in Kanto she'd been vaguely aware of their existence, and Officer Nepole had spoken a little about them from time to time, but she hadn't quite realised they were a big enough group to warrant their own fashion designs. Nor that they were apparently as infamous as Team Rocket to require enforced disbanding.

As Alyssa draws her attention to the egg carriers, she smiles, "I hear they're pretty good. I'm pretty sure at least one of the gym leader's back home used one to, uh, to raise a Togepi." She gently frees her hand from Alyssa's, moving over to the stall to pick up one of the Slugma-emblazoned bags. Turning it over in her hands, she noted the heating elements carefully woven inside. Glancing up to Alyssa, she adds, "You, uh, you don't really have to worry about wind chill or cold days with them. So it's, uh, it's not just useful for keeping your hands free."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa looks up in surprise as Leah frees herself, following near her so she can look at the same bag she's looking at. She nods at Leah's explanation, leaning over the girl's shoulder and pointing a bit at the inside of the bag. "So, um, that part would keep the egg warm even if it's cold out? That's cool." Settling back down, she smiles. "D'you think I should get one? I, um, don't know a lot about eggs but I would guess it needs to be warm."

[Comissar]

Leah finds herself smiling a little as Alyssa leans over her shoulder, giving a confirmatory nod at her question, "Yeah. Umm, even Ice type eggs need a little bit of warmth."

She turns the bag in her hands over to look at the design again, glances to the table, then to Alyssa with a grin, "Up to you which design you want though."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa looks over the designs again, trying to look for something she finds familiar. After sifting through a few she looks at Leah. "I don't know what to pick! I, um, don't think I know most of these Pokemon." She points at a few of the designs, then points at some of the other ones. "So, um, I guess one of these?" She picks up one of the Miltank ones and shrugs. "I'm not good at making choices like this." Sticking her tongue out, she laughs a bit and smiles at Leah. "How do you pick something like this?"

[Comissar]

Leah stifles a giggle as Alyssa admits her difficulties in choosing. "I mean, if, uh, if you're wanting my opinion on it..?" She looks over the options available, scanning the various designs for a few moments before picking up a baby Kangaskhan patterned holder, "This one's cute. And the egg even goes where the pokémon's pouch would be!" She demonstrates, opening the front pouch slightly.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods at Leah's suggestion. She slings the bag holding the egg off her shoulders and gingerly places it on the table, then shifts the egg out and carefully fits it into the bag slot. With it safely in place, she smiles. "I think it works well!" With one hand on the egg to keep it in place on the table, Alyssa looks to find the person she needs to pay for the bag.

[Hazuki]

Fortunately for Alyssa, the woman to pay is not far away. She's a lean woman, clad in a pleather jacket over a plaid shirt, with her hair tied up behind her head.

"'Ello." She looks over Alyssa with piercing eyes, tempered only slightly by a smile. "Twenty gold for the bag. You a first time egger?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods her head at the woman, digging in her pouch for the proper amount of gold. "Y-yeah, um, it kinda happened by surprise." She counts out the money onto the table, then scoops it up and hands it over to the woman. "But I kinda feel like it was meant to be, y'know?" Turning to Leah, she smiles. "Did you ever feel that way about something?"

[Comissar]

Leah reddens a bit as Alyssa turns to her, rubbing behind her neck as she grins back, "I guess, uh, I guess sometimes..?" She gives a small shrug, "I'm, uh, I'm not usually the biggest believer in fate." She turns to the vendor, bobbing her head in gratitude once the payment was made before asking, "Umm, do you, uh, do you have any advice on what we should and, uh, and shouldn't do..?"

[Hazuki]

"Easy enough to take care of, basically indestructible, but if you want it to go quickly, always keep it warm, and make sure you've always got an eye on it, especially when it starts to rattle," the vendor says. "Don't carry more than one, just for convenience, and don't keep it around Pokemon of the same kind that's not its parent, or they might decide it's theirs."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods and takes mental note as the vendor goes into their advice, bowing slightly when she's done. "Thank you! I'll make sure to do that, thanks." She smiles, carefully shifting the egg back onto her back with the egg safely inside. Turning to Leah, she smiles. "What do you think?"

[Comissar]

Leah grins and nods at Alyssa's question, "Looks good though, uh, though I thought it was one of those ones you wear round your front." She reaches out to Alyssa's shoulder, gently turning her so that she could see the egg on her back, "I was wondering if we ought to cover it over but, uh, but it looks pretty secure in there."

[Hazuki]

"No, it sucks! They're not real Pokeballs!" Nika's voice suddenly cuts through the crowd and the girls can see that she's standing just beside the storefront airbrushing Pokeballs.

"What are you talking about?" The woman behind the counter has her hands on her hips and her voice is a little more level, but just as loud. "They're standard Pokeballs, rigth out of the factory. They work as well as any other."

"There's no art to them!" Nika says. "It's just pictures painted by a machine. I can make better Pokeballs than this with my feet!"

"Wh... Young lady, you're making a scene!"

"You're making bad Pokeballs! Shame on you!" Nika points an accusing finger at the woman, her volume not at all reduced, which has drawn quite a few eyes from the other customers. "Shame!"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa blushes when Leah mentions that she should wear it on the front, and pulls the bag off her shoulders to put it on the other way. "Um, like this?"

She doesn't wait for an answer before Nika's voice carries over the crowd. Meeting eyes with Leah, she sighs but puts on her smile. "Um, we better go over there before it gets too bad." Heading to where Nika is pointing at the woman, Alyssa puts a hand on Nika's outstretched arm to lower it. "What's going on?"

[Hazuki]

"Alyssa!" Nika lets her arm be lowered, but she doesn't take her eyes off of the vendor for a second. "This woman is just copying things onto Pokeballs! With a machine!"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa looks at the store front and to where Nika is looking, then turns her gaze back to her. "I, um, get that." She takes out one of her own Pokeballs, looking at the rather bland outside. "Is that, um, bad?"

[Comissar]

Leah grins as Alyssa fixes the bag's position, then turns in surprise at Nika's raised voice. Giving the bag vevndor a final, hurried bob of her head, she follows after Alyssa. A quick glance at the pokéball vendor's stall clues her in to Nika's objection. "Umm, Nika..? It's, uh, it's really common to do that. It's quicker than, uh, than hand painting. With, uh, with how many pokéballs get used, it's kinda important that there's a way to, uh, to mass produce them..."

[Hazuki]

"But then why do they have to act like they're giving a service by painting them?" Nika asks Leah, turning to her with a frown. "It's not a service. They're just letting a machine throw paint at it. That's not art."

[Comissar]

Leah rubs behind her neck, "Well... It is a service, though... Umm, the kind of pokéballs found, uh, found outside of Londo are basically all just red and, uh, and white." She gives a shrug, "Not everyone's good enough to paint their own pokéballs. Umm, and, uh, and not everyone can afford a, uh, a bespoke service..."

[Hazuki]

"So they should use regular ones!" Nika says. "If people want special ones, they should get real artists to do it. Not machines."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shrugs. "Not everyone can get people like you and me to do good work on these kinds of things." She smiles. "You and I are special like that I guess." She shifts the Pokeball in her hand and then puts it away. "I think there's a place for less special ones like these. Like, something between what you make and just regular Pokeballs."

[Hazuki]

"I don't know..." Nika shoots a glare at the machine. "It feels like the machines will just get better and then I won't be able to do it any more."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shakes her head. "I don't think machines will ever be as good as you and I am at what we do." She smiles at Nika, trying to assuage her. "The machine will never have our special spark."

[Comissar]

Leah gives the vendor a brief look mixed with worry and embarrassment as both Nika and Alyssa disparage the machine printed designs, before glancing back to Nika, "I think it's, uh, it's just a different market. There's always going to, uh, going to be a market for, uh, for bespoke things."

[Hazuki]

"But what if they make a machine Nika?" Nika tugs at the neck of her shirt. "Then there won't be a need for me!"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa giggles and hugs Nika. "No machine will replace you."