flowerofmtsilver | OOC; CR chart

[Red] ✠ silentchamp

holy crap a lot of stuff is happening with red team right now please hold

[Marie/Red's Wartortle] ✠ tidalwaves

you too

[Sasha/Red's Charizard] ✠ throughthefireandflames

stuff

[Sonny Moe/Red's Snorlax] ✠ punchthedoritos

As far as Vinnie is concerned, Sonny is probably the strongest Pokemon on their team. Not because of levels or attacks or anything. But because he is somehow able to hold up such powerful, supportive optimism in the face of all despair. It is honestly staggering sometimes.

He's aware that Sonny idolizes him a little - though Vinnie can't really fathom why - and in return, he always tries to do his very best to be a good big brother to him. Not a lot of people are aware of how he's affected by the social challenges of being a Snorlax, after all. Vinnie will always be there to offer his advice and support because he knows how his little brother's good naturedness and naiveté can sometimes do him harm - always believing in the best in others can make it hard for him to stand up to himself. More than anyone, Sonny deserves what's good in the world.

He is a dependable friend and the most earnestly lovable brother Vinnie could possibly ask for, in spite of their very opposite lifestyles. Sonny is the rock of stability in his life, and he couldn't be more thankful for him. The fact that he's the only person on Red's team that has always trusted him completely and never been upset with him is something that the Venusaur is staggeringly grateful for. Even if they're not teammates anymore, nor dormmates, Vinnie wants to continue looking out for his little bro and being a mentor when needed. It's the least he can do to keep Sonny smiling.

[Green] ✠ rivalappeared

Vinnie isn't entirely sure what to feel about Green sometimes. Being Red's rival isn't something inherently detestable to him, but the trainer's arrogant attitude has never made him very beloved. The two trainers are definitely more than simply enemies, but the Venusaur can't understand why Green has such an inability to display outward kindness.

Still, there are fleeting occasions where Green has revealed that he cares, deep down inside. This possibility was brought even more to light by the startling picture that was drawn of a timid, sweet, alternate universe Green. Dying in his arms was an uncomfortably intimate moment that Vinnie isn't too fond of remembering, but can't quite forget. Green's penchant for blatant antagonizing is a bit less effective now knowing this, and it's nice to see that being an RA and Gym Leader has grounded him with at least some sense of responsibility.

Maybe he won't ever be friends with him, but at this point Vinnie can trust that the Viridian Gym Leader will at least always do right by his own team. That would have to be enough.

[Bulba/Green's Venusaur] ✠ rivalsolarbeam

Bulba has pretty much been the only Saur that Vinnie has known ever since leaving the Garden, and even though it's taken a while, he's glad he can call him a friend. In the beginning, there was nothing there but jealousy. Vinnie himself had always stuck out among his family for his attitude, and in the end he was estranged from them - so the fact that there was this lab-born Bulbasaur who wasn't even a proper Child of the Forest that was somehow so Saur-like in temperament infuriated him. It reminded him of everything he failed to be.

When they evolved, however, that resentment has given way to something different. As a Venusaur, Vinnie couldn't help but feel responsible for the younger Saur now, along with the many, many other duties of a fully evolved Pokemon. Even if they remained on rival teams, it was difficult for Vinnie to think of Bulba as someone to compete against - rather, they were simply a different kind of kin by virtue of their Type. Finally, someone who understood this floral half of him that none of his teammates could relate to. Someone bound to the same instincts and urges, the same ancestry. It brought a lot of feelings to the fore that he hadn't previously given thought to. It made Bulba the only person he could confide in when it came to his own conflictions about his instincts and his family. After all, as the only person around who could empathize on the way their hearts worked, it felt safe - safer than bringing potential worry to his own team.

There will always be a bit of disappointment that Bulba could never join him in being a truly Wild Saur - with how their brains are wired, Vinnie knows for a fact that he'll always be bound to Green. But that only makes it his responsibility to be the one to teach Bulba their heritage and traditions. The job is one he doesn't really feel up to - after all, in many ways, Bulba is a lot more mature than him. He's textbook smart, rational, caring and controlled. Despite the age gap, Vinnie sometimes felt like he was the one being mentored - he was certainly being mothered, despite all his protests. His pride certainly got in the way of accepting help sometimes, especially being stubborn and self-reliant as he was. It felt somehow shameful that he had to rely on a younger Saur, regardless of whatever Vinnie's own circumstances were. But Bulba persisted in caring for him,

As time passed, however, their bond really became that of equals. So many things had passed between them, after all - and in the end the truth was that the risks that came with granting forgiveness was worth it to preserve their friendship. Bulba opened up emotionally to things that had otherwise been unsaid between them, and Vinnie became just as comfortable leaning on him as he was offering a shoulder for support. Even if their teams had issues - even if they had issues with the other's team - there was an implicit trust they had for each other. At the end of the day, Vinnie couldn't imagine what he'd do without Bulba. The fact that he had someone in his life like this was something that, by itself, he was goddamn grateful for.

And yet it came as a complete surprise to him, somehow, when Bulba evolved and confessed that he had a romantic attraction for Vinnie - one that he'd been completely oblivious to for the past several months. Anything approaching love had been something that Vinnie simply hadn't given thought to on his own behalf for a long, long time, and he certainly had never considered what it'd be like with another man. Yet they were already so close that it seemed like there wasn't any harm in giving it a try, once Vinnie had sorted himself out a bit more. Turmoil wasn't the best time to experiment with relationships. Either way, they were sure that no matter what the outcome, they'd still be an irreplaceable part of each other's lives.

But in the meantime, in Vinnie's eyes, Bulba's no longer the friend with a powerful bond who understands him and cares without question. He's the friend with a powerful bond who understands him and cares without question and, if given the chance, would love him as something more than friend and kin. It's a small seed, and one that Vinnie has little experience in cultivating. The idea of unfamiliar territory with Bulba after so long as intimidating, but at the same time, somewhere in that unexplored area of his heart, he might actually feel the flutter of hope.

[Char/Green's Charizard] ✠ rivalkidneypunch

The purest definition of a rival in Vinnie's life, for good and ill. As the aggressive hotheads of their respective teams growing up, the then-Ivysaur and Charmeleon were always clawing for a fight with each other, Type advantage be damned. He hated Char, plain and simple, never really seeing their bouts as anything more than an opportunity to make the mouthy Fire Type shut up by feeding him dirt. After the Championship bout, Red and Green went separate ways and Vinnie did a bit of growing up; a bit of evaluation with what he wanted to do with his life. He didn't want to be angry and violent forever. He wanted to be a strong big brother that his family could rely on.

Upon their reunion, it seemed to Vinnie that this was a sentiment that Char, evidently, did not share. The Charizard continued to antagonize them despite the fact that both their teams had moved on from that old dream of becoming Champion. Rationally, if they had to coexist on the same campus, it made sense to try and get along instead of living in the past - but this was a concept that would not take. Every encounter was frustrating and every fight a pain in the ass, and it felt like Char had made it his personal mission to make his family as miserable as possible until they were driven out. This obviously made his worth in Vinnie's mind sink lower and lower.

This childhood rivalry became the last thing on his mind when the Venusaur was seriously injured and fell into depression as he struggled to regain his strength. The fights Char picked just felt devoid of meaning when Vinnie already felt like he'd fallen too far to ever catch up again - nevermind that each fight was hard won for the Fire Type. It was especially frustrating, however, to see his destructive behaviour affect Bulba as well, and that became the point that Vinnie just could not tolerate.

Char was, after all, another a big brother - and eventually, he grew to become one. In parallel, Vinnie had to grow to re-evaluate how exactly to pursue strength, and how to accept the parts of himself he'd previously been denying. That meant recognizing how even his rivalries had shaped him as a person, growing up - but also realizing that despite knowing each other for such a long time, there was actually very little that he understood of Char as an individual. The fact that the Charizard was even able to momentarily put his pride aside to ask Vinnie for help in making a Garden for Bulba was a tremendous step; regardless of how much of an ass he was about it the whole time, it was a genuine gesture for his little brother that proved he was capable of changing for the better.

It puts Vinnie in a very confusing place with Char. There have always been flickers that let on he cares more than he appears to, but as a Bold Natured Grass Type, Vinnie's not very well equiped to translate a lot of the hints behind his thick emotional walls. Like Green, Char also has a baffling inability to do any good deed straightforwardly or accept appreciation. But in all their many, many battles, the Charizard has never went out of his way to see him fatally injured, and out of everyone, Vinnie knows his style the best - there's a trust there that goes unsaid. And outside of combat, the slow beginnings of empathy have started to seep through the cracks. The more their misconceptions and grudges begin to break away, the harder it is to blindly hate the Charizard, even if he's has been responsible for hurting Red team a great deal.

Vinnie's still a far cry from understanding his rival, especially considering Char's much more guarded than he is, but he's begun to recognize his own misstep for never trying before. It's a tenuous give and take each time, and it feels like half his efforts just get slapped away, but Char might just actually be worth the risk of opening up to.

[Jolt/Green's Jolteon] ✠ rivalthunderbolts

If Bulba was a friend, and Char was a rival, then Jolt was the only member of Green team Vinnie could say he had a truly friendly rivalry with. He admires the Jolteon's drive, and especially appreciates that he's not one for carrying aminosity on the route to becoming stronger. Being able to push himself with such a training buddy has been a refreshing challenge that Vinnie had grown to miss. Jolt's easy-going personality makes it difficult to not like him, either. He's been a huge help in the Venusaur regaining strength in his floral aspects - under the promise that they'd have a proper rematch one day, of course. Until then, they'll just keep overworking themselves in the Stadium and driving Bulba nuts.