This world is inhabited by creatures that we call pokemon. People and pokemon live together by supporting each other, but now the scourge threatens the safety of the entire region. Kohaku has become a dangerous place, where children stay at home and only brave souls go adventuring.
Welcome to KOHAKU. Come for the nightmares. Stay for the tea and crumpets.
The season is SUMMER. It is easy for survivors to forage for food from the land, as there are entire abandoned farms ready for harvest. On the downside, you can smell the corpses.
swarms
GRAND OPENING !
Welcome to KOHAKU REGION's grand opening! If you're interested in joining, come check out our grand opening giveaway!
Here it was. It was a humble little café, tucked into the corner of a street in Nerio City. Quaint was another thing that it was, what with the glass front and wicker chairs. Mordecai had returned Achilles to his Pokéball now, mostly to avoid causing a scene. At least the rooftop of Vesta's Department Store had been mostly abandoned.
"Here we are," he said, disappearing into the café with the light tinkling of bells. Upon the door were elegant letters that spelled out the café's name.
nerio city was large, but it was simply because of the people seeking refuge in the area. size-wise, J could have sworn that prosperina was larger, yet compared to nerio, more vacant.
together with mordecai, he had took the lift down from the rooftop of the department store and walked a bit to get to the shop. the café had an odd name: first shop of coffee prince, said the sign in neat, elegant letters, and J wondered if it had anything to do with its heritage.
probably not, he thought, considering how new everything looked. J moved into the cafe, careful to not knock into any tables or chairs on his way in. "you visit often?" he asked mordecai as he browsed their menu.
Truth be told, the café was a bit of an anomaly in the midst of the rough-and-tumble Nerio City. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, just different. It was also surprisingly tame and mostly empty for a social gathering area of the city.
"Actually," Mordecai admitted, "first time here. It just happened to catch my eye on the way here. I like the quieter places, I suppose." It gave him plenty of room in the atmosphere to think. There was just enough hustle and bustle that kept him rooted to the ground, as opposed to allowing his mind to go floating off somewhere he didn't want it to go. Besides, trying something new was always more interesting with another person.
His eye looked over the menu, only glancing up as he heard someone clearing their throat above. He glanced up, meeting eye-to-eye with either a particularly effeminate man, or a flat-chested and short-haired woman.
"hm," J mumbled after mordecai to show that he was listening. he quite understood the appeal of quiet places, though. people enjoyed that, but it wasn't meant for trainers.
J glanced up at the service staff, and shrugged. "what's good."
The server looked at their own menu clutched in their hands. "Well, now that it's getting a little warmer, the gelato de bere is pretty popular with people who have a bit of a sweet tooth. Though if you prefer something bitter to wake you up, the house special espresso will do a sure job," they explained. "And if you're not looking for anything fancy, a straight latte will do the job."
Mordecai pored over his menu before responding with, "A cappuccino then."
J stared at the staff. okay, well, that was a lot of things he didn't understand. it was best to go with hot chocolate that not only filled his stomach, but also gave him all the vital nutrients needed to survive his pokémon journey. (besides rice, that is.)
"um. something with chocolate chips."
this wasn't like ordering a pokémon to use a technique. no, this was worse than battling scourge pokémon.
The staff nodded, but before disappearing into the kitchen, they quipped another question. "Oh, we have a special here at Coffee Prince. We ask for the name of any Pokémon that you have off the top of your head."
Mordecai raised a brow, before asking, "Whatever for?"
"It's a surprise, sir."
That was enough to rouse Mordecai's curiosity. He gave a thoughtful nod. Naturally, Molly was the first Pokeemon who came to mind. so he replied with, "Umbreon, then." He tacked on a, "... sir?"
The staff member returned it with a tight-lipped smile. "Y-yes, sir will do," before waiting for J's response.
"skarmory," J said, off the top of his head. it was hard not to remember wing when it had just screeched and thrown what seemed to be a little tantrum on the rooftop of the department store.
he turned to mordecai. "what?" he mouthed, unsure of what had just transpired.
Mordecai merely shrugged at J. He was just as clueless as the trainer, but he figured that it wasn't anything important. So instead, he set to studying the coffee table before them. It was round and made of glass, dainty little white dishes set before each of them, with a napkin gently wrapping a small fork and spoon.
"I'm sure it's nothing to be too concerned about," he said, glancing around the mostly-abandoned coffee shop.
Though the use of the word "surprise" was just a little bit sketchy.
"How long have you been in Nerio for?"
(it just occurred to me, do these two even know each other's names?)
"quite some time," J said, avoiding commenting on the surprise the staff had promised. he had a feeling that it wasn't going to be amazing. but then again, it was still a surprise ... best focus on the question posed instead of something he wouldn't have an answer to until later.
"covered a lot of things while i was here, especially in bellona."
Mordecai remembered Bellona Hills. He remembered what the apartment complexes and mansions had looked like prior to being overrun by Scourge. He recalled the decadent parties that his parents would drag him to. He didn't enjoy them very much, but his siblings were dragged by the backs of their shirts, so all was well.
"I haven't been here as long as you then, I suppose," he responded, before adding, "... I don't think I caught your name?"
It was the coffee shop staff member who saved Mordecai from replying by popping out of nowhere with a white tray. Settled upon it were a pair of matching, white mugs. "One cappuccino and one hot chocolate," they announced, setting each mug down before their corresponding customer.
What caught Mordecai's attention was not the drinks themselves, but rather, what was on the drinks. Milk foam was gathered upon the surface of each drink, one designed in the shape of an Umbreon, and the other, a Skarmory.
Mordecai looked up to thank the staff member, but they'd already left.
"Oh, so I suppose this was what they were asking that for."
J stared at his cup of hot chocolate; how could he drink this without breaking the image? he watched the layer of foam slowly dissipate and sink into the drink, and he stared at it some more. so that's why the drink took that long? for art to be made?
... he wasn't wallace of the hoenn region; he wasn't cut out for art, man. "uh," he said, "do we drink now, or what?"
he had a feeling that one of the schoolgirls at the other table had snapped a photo of her own beverage and tagged everyone she knew on instagram or whatever, citing cute images and whatnot. (he wanted to --)
Mordecai could appreciate the detail put into the frothy milk on the surface of the hot beverages. He examined his carefully, wondering how on earth the barista had managed to draw the image onto it and be able to serve the drink while it was still piping hot.
He nodded. "It's a nice touch," he replied, almost reluctantly lifting a spoon and stirring the mug's contents about.
Time to judge the café on how their drinks tasted since they'd already nailed presentation.
