firstnothing

002

A day ago, Xemnas finally arrived in Cherrygrove City, in the rain, at night. There had been a battle or three or four on the way, his pokemon's eagerness to prove herself meaning she was more than happy to confront wild critters, and his efforts to teach her to use her teeth and sharp little hooves instead of just bodily running her opponent over didn't work very well.

Such is life.

With evening well settled in, he chose the beach as a place to spend the night in lieu of dealing with an inn. The steady rain could have made this less than enjoyable, but the coats he'd selected for all of the Organization were thoroughly waterproof and comfortably warm. Watching the water was an old and familiar habit.

Less of a habit is falling asleep outside.

Morning breaks as soggy as night had fallen, a steady rain doing little to actually stir him awake. What did, was the oppressive weight holding him down, and the occasional twitch of something moving. That startles him wide awake, careful to not move and possibly alert whatever had chosen to attack him - or in this case, as observation noted quickly, what had chosen to sleep on him.

A small array of odd looking anthropods lay obviously sleeping all over his person, perhaps lured by simple body heat, some tucked against others. They weren't big enough to strike him as dangerous, and the claws ... mandibles, whatever they were, while sharp didn't seem likely to get through his coat. Xemnas shifts slowly, pushing one off to the side. It startles awake almost instantly, and just as quickly reattaches itself, its small eyes wide. One waking stirs the others awake quickly, all regarding their impromptu heat rock with wide, wide eyes. But not a single anorith actually lets go.

"Get off me, insolent creatures!"

Where careful pushing failed, angry thrashing seems to work amazingly well, sending the displaced fossil pokemon scattering in all directions ... and not entirely under their own power in the doing. Dignity battered but not broken, the ex-Superior of the Organization seethes for several long minutes before stalking towards the inn instead. If it means not getting covered in ... in sleeping animals, he'll pay their damned room fees!

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[He doesn't look annoyed but boy he is. He seems to be at an inn. And that is absolutely a blitzle happily jumping on the bed in the background, doing cheerful somersaults every few bounces. A pokemon egg, carefully nestled in what looks suspiciously like a long black leather coat, sits by the bed.

An aerodactyl glides past the window outside.]

Good evening, strangers and known individuals alike. It seems there's a bit of an infestation going on, as others have surely noticed. I wonder, has anyone set to catching these creatures yet?

[There's a moment's pause, and a faint frown.]

Another thought; I understand there are many here whom breed pokemon rather than battling them. I seek the expertise of one with experience in breeding and handling growlithes.

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[...Hm? Laguna gives a grin, as he answers - showing his Arcanine, an Omanyte resting on it.]
Breeding and raisin', huh? Well, I raised Moomba here. What do you want to know?

[That is a very big dog. Arcanine was the evolved form, wasn't it? Xemnas frowns a little, but it seems more of a thinking frown than an upset one.]

Do they all grow that size? How trainable are they? I do not mean by way of battle alone. Are they obedient? Will there be handling difficulties, assuming I have very little experience in dealing with these creatures? [So many questions!] Will one in theory work well with a blitzle and ... deerling? Or will it see them as prey?

Well, you've come to the right guy! Let's see... I've seen a few others around the Breeding Center, and Moomba's around the normal size of them. And they're as friendly as a puppy - wait, y'do have dogs in your world, right? He was actually one of my first eggs... and I've got both a Sawsbuck and Zebstrika, he's been fine with them!
Are you interested in one?

[Self note: be prepared for a mountain sized dog.]

I have not owned one, but dogs do exist in my world, yes.

[Technically. Very technically. Xemnas remembered a dog being around for a short time in the bleached white halls, though how it got there or why he wasn't sure.]

I am. I have been told there might be some a week or two's walk from my current position, but rifling through wild pokemon in the hopes of finding one worth keeping seems.. mm. A waste.

[Besides, captive bred guarantees some things that wild-caught did not.]

However I did not see any listed in the breeding center, so acquiring one has proven difficult so far. I believe a growlithe will compliment my current pair of pokemon, by way of power and temperament.

In my experiences, Growlithe's are usually rather hyperactive. That may not be the case for all of them, but I do suggest being prepared for that.

[Even though his is now a hyperactive Arcanine, who can be seen behind Ren in the video.]

Hm. Hyperactivity can be channeled in humans. Presumably also with pokemon.

[Another amazingly oversized dog. Xemnas was going to have to shift his estimations of how much dogfood exactly he was going to have to be prepared with.]

...At what stage does a growlithe become its larger version?

If you give them enough things to do they'll obey and do their tasks pretty enthusiastically.

[Even if they might do mistakes, but that's pretty obvious so he doesn't say that.]

Growlithe needs an item called Fire Stone to evolve. Usually it's better to wait until they've learned all the useful moves before evolving them, though.

I see. That is good to know. The tremendous size of the evolved form would be at this point in time terribly inconvenient..

Well, the plus side of Arcanine's being so big is that you can use them for transport.

This is so. My starter is a blitzle, which would eventually grow into something likewise transport-capable. Do you have any difficulty keeping a pokemon of that size with you, or does it stay in a pokeball more often?

Mine usually stay in their pokeballs, but when they're out theres usually enough space for them to be in. This world is built around the Pokémon, so it makes sense for them to build places big enough.

This is so, however I have seen the inside of few buildings beyond the inn so far.

[His blitzle is still jumping on the bed. She's having a good time. Maybe he hadn't thought of the pokeball option.]

But if a growlithe's evolution can be controlled simply by not gaining the appropriate item, size shouldn't be an issue for quite a long time. I did not see any available in the breeding centre's advertisements.. I may have to be patient, or attempt to find a place where they live wild.

[Breeding centre didn't have Growlithes? And Ren thought those were popular...]

Unfortunately, I'm just a trainer with little experience on breeding, so I'm not of any help with that... but there should be wild ones near Goldenrod. At least I was able to catch mine from there.

[There's a touch of a frown.]

Goldenrod City is some distance off still. I suppose I will have to get going if I intend to reach it in any reasonable timeframe. Are wild growlithe any different from captive-- ah. Trainer bred?

Well, there's a possibility of the Pokémon learning moves they don't normally learn in ages if they're trainer bred. Those are called egg moves. Sometimes there's even a chance of the Pokémon learning something they wouldn't normally learn.

[There is a brief ghost of a smile.]

Indeed. I have discovered that my young deerling will likely have these bred-in skills, and with some luck perhaps a growlithe would as well. An automatic bonus over a wild-caught pokemon, one would assume.

Yes. Though wild Pokémon are on higher level so that's a plus for that...

It seems, if a pokemon can only learn certain abilities with age and considerable experience, given they gain power ...relatively swiftly, it would be more convenient, especially if one is just starting out in this world, to begin with an egg as opposed to a wild-caught companion.

Hmmm... that's true. They also say that Pokémon are more loyal and affectionate to you if you raise them from eggs.

Truly? Hm. An unexpected benefit. I suppose it makes sense in a way, after all you hatch and raise it from the beginning. Does it affect their strength in adulthood, or is that more individual?

I don't really think it does, unless you think about the fact that the Pokémon will most likely work even harder than they would for you sake, so it might affect the way they perform.

[Xemnas makes a low, thoughtful noise, brow furrowing a little.]

Aside from having to carry around an egg for some weeks, I wonder if there are any drawbacks. A pokemon of little experience might be troublesome to those more advanced in their training, but for one such as I, new to this place, it is no terrible burden.

Hmm... well, I've been here for over a year and I still keep purchasing eggs. Even though I'm in areas that are much higher level than the newborns, it's still easy to train them with the help of your other Pokémon.

Is that so? Few drawbacks indeed then. The only thing that remains is to acquire the capital needed to purchase a few more.

I think that's the most annoying part, really.

[Xemnas' expression sours, just slightly.]

Indeed. It is a new and unwanted experience. I have performed various 'jobs' in the past, but either for a master or as a master, and the exchange of funds was never required. The hiring list seems much less.. refined.

[There's a bit of an understanding smile on his face.]

I know how you feel. Before coming here, I had never worked "for real". So being a waiter at a café was a new experience... though you get used to it pretty quickly. It was just a matter of swallowing your pride, at least for me.

Pride... I wonder if that's what it is. [Xemnas sounds just a little puzzled; it wasn't one of the emotions he could remember clearly. What did pride feel like?] Whether or not pride interferes, it must be done. Currency makes even this world go 'round, and sleeping outside is troublesome.

I suppose I'll find something I am suited to on the way. If nothing else, this world encourages travel.

[That makes Ren confused a little... though not enough to ask.]

You can always try battling trainers and see how far that takes you. There are plenty of trainers on the routes.

[There's one of those long, long pauses that suggests this is probably being overthought.]

Many of the trainers I have seen so far are rather ... young. There is no onus on setting your pokemon on a far weaker trainer and then taking their munny?

[Money, munny. Surely it's the same thing, but he seems terribly baffled.]

[Munny? Uh... well, it sounds like money enough to be mistaken. He could have heard wrong.]

There isn't. Though the trainers come in many age... some are elderly, even.

So far most are young, and seem to primarily train insects and small variants on mice. A peculiar thing, compared to what I know best. But if it is how things operate in this world then.. I suppose I will have to resort to beating children's pets and taking their money. It seems the sort of thing the local law enforcement would look badly on.

[At least he seems to understand perfectly that it's his pokemon that need to do the fighting and he's not actually beating up the kids..]

Haha, no. Instead they arrest people who skip work, even for good reasons, and fail catching the local criminal organization. The police here are a bit odd.

[Their reasons for arresting and reasons for not arresting are way beyond logical.]

Oh, and they do arrest people if they hurt Pokémon themselves... and other people, but it sometimes feels like Pokémon are more important.

This world is nothing if not arbitrary. I can see the reason behind arresting those who abuse these creatures however, as it seems every single facet of life relies on them.

That's a good word for it. [Given all the crazy things that happen all the time.] But yes... it seems nothing in this world can be done without them.

I've had my Growlithe for almost two years at this point. Hatched him from an egg and all that shit.

Breeding the little fuckers happens to be easier than you think.

A dedicated breeder will in theory know more about a particular species than any person on the street who doesn't control their pokemon's urges and just happens to wind up with offspring on accident.

Yeah and no. Even some trainers will know that stuff just from experience. Take Alex, for instance... There is nothing about him that I do not know. I know what moves he will pass onto his offspring and the fact that he doesn't want to evolve because he likes being travel sized.

This is true, you will know your own companion very well. However you may not understand the breed entire, due to not dedicating yourself to that singular species in favor of the one pokemon you know best. Yours, however, may not be an example of the breed - it may be inferior, or vastly superior, or simply a little different. While I'm uncertain if any pokemon breeders here specialize in such a way, it is my hope to contact someone who does.

[Xemnas' tone never varies; he's maintaining a polite tone easily. He's curious, but not really interested in case studies.]

Dude, no one really specializes in one goddamn breed. Some might specialize in types - Cheria prefers water beasts and John has a thing for ghost types - but it's fucking ridiculous to fill your slots with only one monster.

I see you fail to understand both my stated words and my intentions. Very well. Thank you for your time.

God, I hate cheeky assholes that are vague instead of stating what they want slash need plainly. If no one understands the gibberish coming from those two flaps you have posing as lips, then maybe you should, oh I don't know... Fix that fucking problem.

Edited 2013-07-31 00:52 (UTC)

[There is very obviously no reply, whether or not Xemnas even bothers to view the response is a good question too.]

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