.001 Δ [Video/Action for Cherrygrove]

[ratherbelocky]

[The feed flips on to show a man holding a brush in one hand and a young Shinx in his lap. Both of them appear to have been freshly bathed, with the damp Shinx swaddled in one of Cherrygrove Inn's warm, fluffy towels. When all of her wriggling and protesting comes to naught, she just lies there in her towel burrito and seethes. York, on the other hand, has found that shops in this world do, apparently, sell hair product for humans, and he couldn't be happier. He's fixed his hair for the first time in days. Life is wonderful.

Not that vanity's necessarily the reason he hasn't introduced himself to the PokéConnect community at large yet. It's just. You know. Coincidence.]

Good morning, people. And Pokémon, too, of course, can't forget you guys. For those of you I haven't spoken to yet, I'm York, I'm one of your more recent unwitting transplants to sunny Johto. Or, well, partially cloudy Johto, anyway. How about that weather, huh?

[The temperature has dropped literally twenty degrees in the five days since he got here, oh my god, why. Being caught out on the road in yesterday's rainstorm sucked. Now he's warm and dry and comfortable in a clean shirt a couple sizes too big for him (and he's not exactly a small man). Really, what could be better than being alive here and now?

He rubs the Shinx's fur drier, unwraps her, and then holds her still before she can escape so he can brush the tangles out. She mewls fussily, but his hands are steady, and eventually she relaxes--if mutinously--into the attention. He chuckles a little.]

But okay, I'm not actually here to make small talk. I got a question for you folks.

[He turns the PokéGear with the back of his brush to show another Pokémon, an Elgyem, bundled up in a blanket on the bed, fast asleep.]

Can someone tell me more about Psychic Pokémon? [He goes back to brushing.] I get that they read minds--Delta Two there communicates with me all the time--but she doesn't use words so it's hard to get more...complicated ideas across, sometimes. I was wondering, can you train them to talk? Or do other things? These guys are obviously a lot more intelligent than the animals back on my Earth, so I guess you could say I'm curious about what they can do.

[The Shinx's eyes are half-closed now as York brushes away. Someone's a sleepy baby.]

'Preciate your time. Over and out.

((Action also available for Cherrygrove, where he can be found at the inn or browsing the PokéMart stock.))

Comments

[islandshore]

Oh, power, rare Pokémon, probably world domination. Team Aqua had this whole thing about wanting to expand the oceans by taking control of a giant whale. That was fun.

[It's said with a wry chuckle. It actually was kinda exhilerating, anyway.]

[ratherbelocky]

[That startles a laugh out of him, somehow.]

Oh. So, actual cartoon villain motivations. Good to know.

I'm guessing they're not that hard to take on, long as we stick together and believe in the power of friendship, right?

[islandshore]

That depends. See, they've got numbers on their side, not to mention resources. Plus, with Team Rocket, some of us wind up joining their ranks, and they're probably some of the most dangerous trainers out there.

[It's here that his expression hardens like stone, not quite a glare, though there's some fire in his eyes.]

Friendship alone won't cut it. You've gotta train a team, stay on guard... Sometimes it's not too serious, but I'd be lying if I said it was all sparkles and rainbows.

[ratherbelocky]

Well, that doesn't sound too different from what I was trained to do in the first place.

[If he sounds a little wry about that, well. Bombings and experiments, am I right?]

Thanks for the warning, though, kid. I'll keep an eye out, and I'll tell my squad to stay sharp, too. We're used to this sort of thing.

[islandshore]

Good. Just don't expect to do a lot of fighting yourself; for some reason, owning weapons is illegal. Period.

It's stupid, but it's not like I make the laws around here.

[ratherbelocky]

I mean, I thought it was kind of weird that I couldn't find anything, but you're really telling me...really?

[Really.]

We're allowed to catch and train hundreds of superpowered creatures that regularly break the laws of physics and throw them into some kind of crazy cockfighting culture.

But we can't carry personal arms.

Really.

[islandshore]

Yep, but it's totally fine to train your dragon to shoot lasers that could blast through buildings.

[He gives a flat look into the camera, lifting his palms and shrugging his shoulders.]

It's supposedly for the Pokémon's safety, but they deal with worse threats from each other.

[ratherbelocky]

I...

[York pauses, then rubs at the inner corners of his eyes. His voice comes out on a laugh.]

Well, it makes about as much sense as anything else around here. If nothing else, it ensures I'm not gonna get shot again any time soon. Can't say I'm too broken up about it.