06 ☣ video/action for vermillion

[ripped]

[Have a shot of Nero's hand, holding the Thunder Badge.]

That was a piece of cake after the hell that voodoo chick in Saffron put me through; finding that damn switch was a worse pain in my ass than breaking into HQ back home, though.

[He turns the camera around. His hair...well, let's just say that the levels of static electricity in the Vermillion gym are quite high, and leave it at that. Dandelion? Got nothin' on this.

Clearly Nero hasn't noticed, because he runs a hand through it, a bit impatient, only making it worse. Behind him, there's a snuffling sound, before a big, lumbering shape--his Druddigon, all teenage-gangliness and overenthusiastic movement--pushes her head affectionately against his side. She reaches up to fix his hair, but he doesn't know it, so he tilts his head away, letting her claw rub like sandpaper over his cheek. His eyes narrow.]

So, uh.

Anyone know how to make a pokemon like you...less?

[Because having a two-hundred-pound fangirl with scales like sandpaper hanging all over you during a gym match when you're trying to teach her how things are done is. Distracting.

Click.]

[private text message to Dante]

You made it to Cherrygrove yet?

[private text message to Miyuki]

Did you see the new breeding center eggs getting announced?

Comments

[Video]

[ripped]

Negative what...?

[Behaviorism: not Nero's forte. His other ones clearly didn't have this particular personality quirk.]

[Video]

[infinitejustice]

Reinforcement. Every time it does an undesirable behavior, take something away. But make sure you show it how to properly behave, or it isn't going to learn.

[Well, that's one good thing about being a military officer -- you learn how to discipline subordinates.]

[Video]

[ripped]

What, you mean stop feeding her?

[He hasn't made the relation between removing his person = removing the reward. While Nero was in something resembling a military order, he never had any subordinates, and thank god for that.]

[Video]

[infinitejustice]

No! No, don't do that.

[And that's practically abuse.]

Reduce her meal size, or make her spend more time in her Poké Ball. That kind of thing.

[Video]

[ripped]

[He was wondering why you'd suggest something like that...]

Guess I'll think about it. They usually just kind of...take care of themselves.

[This is progress, though, at least he's thinking about it now.]

[Video]

[infinitejustice]

Oh, and once she gets the idea, give her small rewards when she does it right. Like a little extra food. Eventually you should be able to wean her off.

[Video]

[ripped]

So, like...positive reinforcement.

[LEARNINGS!!]

You sound like you know what you're talking about.

[Video]

[infinitejustice]

Yeah. It's something of an occupational benefit. Back home, I was a soldier, so I had to learn how to maintain discipline among the troops.

[Video]

[ripped]

Guess that makes sense. [So this stuff applies to humans, too. And a soldier? Nero can respect that.] ...thanks for the input.

[Video]

[infinitejustice]

I'm glad I could help.

...And speaking of which, you might want to step outside.

[Video]

[ripped]

[Nero's eyes narrow.]

What?

[Video]

[infinitejustice]

...Your hair. Wherever you are, there's tons of static electricity in the air.

[Video]

[ripped]

[...well, shit.]

--right.

[He pulls up his hood to cover the mess, and, giving Athrun a nod, cuts the feet. HELLO, SHAME FOREVER.]