unkinder | ☆ 011

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☆ 011 | Text

I have two questions. The first is for any of those familiar with what this entire world is "based" on, so to speak: a game series.

Taking the time to travel through Kanto has brought me to the realization that many things are different from what I remember in actually playing what amounted to a children's RPG. Maybe it has something to do with there being different interpretations of it across different universes. It's strange to think how normal discussing something like that is, anymore.

My question is, if you are familiar with the games I'm referring to, what exactly do you recall as being different in comparison to the world we're all now forced to live in? And I mean beyond there being new Pokemon; that much has already been established. In my experience, the cities in Kanto for example- as well as their gym leaders- are the same, but the routes taken to get to them seem different here. It's entirely possible that I just chose a different path unintentionally, given the fact that traveling in real life is different from moving in a video game.

Having the opportunity to face Elite teams formed by these gym leaders is also something new, it seems.

[This translates into the fact that Nagi had intended to do the gyms in order (in painstaking, 6 100-level Pokemon to the face, order), but the way traveling went sortof threw a wrench into those plans.]

And my second question.

Assuming you do not have any ground types on hand, what Pokemon would you use as alternatives to battle Lieutenant Surge?

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I didn't really PLAY the games myself, but I watched my friends play them a little bit. I guess what's the most strange to me is all these gym leaders seem so much stronger? At least stronger than I'd assume them being. This one I'm at, in Violet City, is supposed to be the "first" gym, isn't it? I would imagine in a game it'd be more of a tutorial level, but instead I've been training for weeks and weeks.

And is his name really Lieutenant Surge? That just screams electric-types to me. Am I right?

They are stronger. I'm not sure if that's something that's been done purposefully or not. Perhaps there needed to be more of a challenge, with less and less trainers ever arriving at only 10 years old.

And yes, that's really his name. Unsurprisingly, he has electric-types.

I still can't believe it's so common that kids go out and do this all on their own. Strange. If anything, I'm noticing similarities. But again, I never played them for longer than a few minutes.

As for electric-types, unfortunately the cheat sheet I have says ground is the only strength against them. Avoid water or flying?

If the games hadn't been intended for children in that age bracket, the player might have easily been much older.

[Then again, the older you get the more surprising the age of the usually-young main characters gets to you.]

Oh, I intend to, if nothing else. I do know better than that.

A sharper wit on the battlefield might win, in this case, and the usage of TMs might be a last resort. Even faster Pokemon might be more of an asset, since I can't imagine Surge's team being anything but incredibly quick.

TMs?

Sorry, I don't mean to ask for advice when that's what you're doing. No one's explained those to me yet, though, and I've only seen them mentioned a few times. Are they special items to help with battles?

[Ah. A newbie, then.]

TMs stand for "Technical Machines". They are used to teach your Pokemon new moves that they might not learn naturally. I taught my Raichu Brick Break this way, for example. They come in the form of CDs that are broken over the head of the Pokemon learning the move.

[Just said as casually as anything.]

[.....UM???]

You break them over their heads?! Doesn't it hurt them?!?

Edited 2016-03-25 19:25 (UTC)

Not any more than regular battling.

[They're built for this, cmon.]

TMs are made to be used this way, so I doubt they'd really hurt them.

Alright fair.

But why would something be designed that way? On discs? That you have to break over something's head? Does the knowledge just sink into them? It sounds so ineffectual. I get it, video game land so things are strange, but this seems stranger than just constant background music, doesn't it?

I was going to say, that's a question better asked to the game developers, not me. Or Pokemon Professors, in this case.

You have to remember that Pokemon can live perfectly fine in pokeballs, or "PCs". If you think about it that way, it would make less sense if they were taught moves some sort of other way. In the sense of CDs, it's like the information is being 'downloaded' into them, in a way.

[HE...GUESSES.]

Like some strange sort of artificial intelligence? But they're real and alive. Does that make us since we're in a video game like artificial intelligence too?

Sorry, don't mean to get all weird and metaphysical on your post.

It's fine. I don't mind talking at length about Pokemon, even if it's something like this.

[It's...really the only thing he'll talk at length about, but anyway.]

There are already Pokemon who were actually created as artificial intelligence, like Porygon. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to think that. I'm not sure if that applies to people too, but there isn't much about this world that surprises me anymore.

There are, huh? I haven't heard of those. I guess I should research more before making any kind of assumptions.

What other sort of strange things are there about this world that you've run into? Anything like this, if you don't mind my asking?

[Give him a moment to think on that, Ashley. There certainly are plenty, but it's actually a little hard to talk about just one when they've all started blurring together.]

For one, I'm fairly certain that our "Mother" wasn't quite as detached from reality as the one that lives here is. But since you've experienced that if you're talking to me now, I don't think it bears repeating.

There are new things that apparently appeared with games beyond my time that I'm still familiarizing myself with. Breeding didn't exist before, and neither did a lot of types, such as Steel or Fairy.

I don't know if you've been here long enough to experience anything like this, but this world also seems to have a strange tendency to follow patterns when strange things occur. Certain weekends involve people and creatures coming in from other worlds for a few days, with people regaining powers or forms they might have lost when they came here. Another example would be the fact that something happens nearly every October, ranging from one extreme to the other, but usually always region-wide.

Is that true? I thought some things I'd just tuned out. How fascinating, entirely new types and professions? I was speaking with someone the other day about how the game-to-actual mechanics don't translate as well as they could, so it only makes sense that some of what people would grow accustom to here are an elaboration.

I have heard of such occurrences - the weekend overflows, the ability returns - but October is a mystery to me. What sorts of "something" are you talking about?

This past October there was an...incident. There were Pokemon rampaging across the regions that had been mutated. Some of them attacked trainers when they tried to capture them, or sometimes without being provoked at all.

Some time after these attacks, those afflicted found themselves transforming into Pokemon, too. It wasn't pleasant.

[Holy shit uh

It'll take a significantly longer time for Ashley to respond to this message than the ones before. Ten, twenty minutes.]

Did they
could they change back and

Are they all like that? That absolutely horrible?

[Well. Seems he may have struck a nerve.]

Considering the fact that I personally was one of the trainers affected, and I'm not currently still suffering from having the translucent body of a Reuniclus, I would say they did change back, yes.

But no, not necessarily. The year before that was an entirely different kind of occurrence...it involved two groups known as Team Magma and Team Aqua seeking to harness the power of two legendary Pokemon to reshape the regions in their images. Obviously though, that didn't work out.

Oh.
I'm sorry I didn't realize it was something you had personal experience with the thought of it just frightened me and I asked without thinking, I'm very sorry.

No one mentioned anything so cataclysmic. Neither the attempted takeover or the
mutations.

[Why does everything lead back to humans turning into monsters...]

It's fine. It was a while ago now, anyway. I'm sure most have forgotten about it by now.

[Just another day in Johto, tbh.]

Like I said, it isn't as if those things happen constantly. Other than those incidences, things are peaceful.

[Boring, but peaceful nonetheless.]

[How the fuck can people forget about that HOW IS THIS BETTER THAN MT. TRAUMA no no it's cool it's cool]

They still seem at least noteworthy.

But peace otherwise is beyond reassuring, of course. Would you recommend then hiding out once October shows up?

If that is what you feel like you need to do, I guess. Things are just as unpredictable as they are predictable, so I couldn't tell you what might end up happening this year, or if it will be worse than what happened last October or not.

Naturally. This place is full of surprises, that must is certain.

Thank you for letting me know either way. I'd rather be able to prepare than not.

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☆ 011 | Text

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