firstnothing

[Video!]

[The video clicks on to focus not on Xemnas, but a rather sedate looking kadabra carefully picking burrs out of a blitzle's fur, the ever-present kadabra-spoon held in its teeth. Both have rather new looking and fairly loose black collars studded with small silvery ...studs, and a single bright silver charm a little too distant to make out clearly. Neither seem to mind said collars, possibly because they'd be able to get them off very easily if they wanted to. When Xemnas speaks, likely the one holding the camera, he sounds bemused.]

I have finally seen evolution in this world for myself, but not with one of the pokemon I have had the longest. Is it odd, that the abra I captured not so long ago, evolved so quickly into its next form? Or is this common for wild-caught pokemon? I have high hopes of seeing the second stage of Regret's own evolution soon.

[The blitzle notices the camera first and perks up visibly. Then begins making faces at it, no small fete for a horselike face. Aside from a slow flick of its rather fluffy tail, the kadabra doesn't bother to divert from its goal of burrs.]

Additionally the growlithe that had chosen to accompany me is still present. If anyone is desirous of having a free growlithe, alert me and I will bring it somewhere you can capture it. To the young man I purchased the gastly egg from: it is a remarkable creature, and one I suspect I will keep for some time. You must be very pleased with its parents.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

lastcharge

[The Blitzle snout gets a small chuckle out of him, he knows that Pokemon species as he has one himself.]

No, Dartanian is on the large side for a Charizard, but those being larger than usual is a common trend with most of the hand raised Charmanders I've seen. I actually have two, this guy and a female who is all black, her coloring unique from being a rare shiny. She used to be all gold, but her final form wound up pure black.

A Ponyta and a Glameow, not awful starters. I will say keeping an eye out for people selling the eggs is a good option though; hatched Pokemon tend to be born with more moves than wild raised ones.

From:

firstnothing

[Her curiosity is indulged. Xemnas could chase her off, but if he was to acquire a firebreathing lizard she'd have to get along with it too.]

Is that common for only charmanders or all hand-raised pokemon? I've two currently that hatched from eggs, a deerling and a gastly, both are already stronger than Regret had been at their level of experience. ...These.. 'rare shinies'. Are they any better, or is it a difference in coloration alone?

From:

lastcharge

All hand raised Pokemon, so long as the breeders knew what they were doing. The shinies are only color mutations, it doesn't do anything to their power or skills.

[Lifting a ball at the corner of the screen, another Pokemon forms and it's the black Charizard he had been talking about. She settles herself next to Dartanian, who just makes an annoyed sound and puffs smoke again; the female is smaller, but much more calm and much more content to simply stare back at the screen, curiously leaning in close enough that Vanitas has to take a few steps back so she doesn't bonk the gear with her snout.]

From:

firstnothing

[There is a murmur from Xemnas, just barely too quiet to be intelligible, and the blitzle is gently moved out of the way by the kadabra, who likewise scrutinizes the charizard. ..And the new black one. What can be caught of what he's saying to them sounds like he's suggesting they weigh whether or not they could accept a dragon as a teammate. Neither visible pokemon seems bothered by the idea, though the blitzle is far more curious.]

I believe both of my hatched pokemon are ... of the ordinary color variants. I can't be certain, but none have said they are terribly unusual or noteworthy. I have however heard that there is a fire-type called 'infernape' that is a very versatile and powerful creature to be allied with. Are they as resilient as your dragons?

[There's something just a touch different in Xemnas' tone. He really does approve of those charizards. Dragons were amazing.]

From:

lastcharge

Funny thing is, you can tell a shiny from a regular because - here, just take another look. [The black one has almost a sheen to her, very brief but occasional legitimate sparkles.]

I've heard of that one, it's a fire and fighting type Pokemon that resembles an ape. [Give him a sec, he's pulling out his dex again to flip through some pages.] They're really fast, faster than Arcanines actually, but it's like a glass cannon. They can take out just about anything so long as it isn't a water type, because water types commonly have high defense and high health. If the water type survives the one hit knock out an Infernape is known for, it can knock the fire type out with a well placed water attack.

From:

firstnothing

Mmm. I have.. noticed no sparkles.

[No shinies then! And there definitely does seem to be an unusual amount of shine to the scales of that charizard.]

I see. Are charizards likewise fragile but very damaging, or more balanced in their approach to fights?

From:

shadowdive

More balanced. They aren't as fast, but they can handle a hit so long as it isn't from a rock type. Rock types aren't popular because they're fairly slow and have too many weaknesses, so it's more the water types you will have to worry about. If the fire on a Charmander, Charmeleon or Charizards tail goes out, they may potentially die. [The pokedex says as much. He's never been particularly interested in testing it.]

From:

firstnothing

Hm. That is an inconvenient weakness, as rainstorms have not been infrequent since my arrival. Perhaps it would be best to see how my current pokemon develop before choosing a fire type. If I have need of a ...glass cannon as you put it, then there will be a place.

From:

shadowdive

Heh, so long as it's kept in mind. Charizards are my preferred fire type, but if you ever want to see any of the other actual dragon types, I think I have one of everything. [He just likes to show off his level 100s ok. Best of bragging rights.]

From:

firstnothing

[They seem to be worth bragging about, as far as Xemnas is concerned. None of his current herd of littles could compare. One day. But not yet.]

If you feel the need to show others, then I will not object. It's always good to know what the possibilities are, after all. I have a small number of specific pokemon I wish to have but there are... many more I am simply not aware of yet.

From:

shadowdive

There are several different dragon types, and while they all have similar movepools, some just look cooler than others.

[He's got a hint of excitement, he hasn't really. Been able to show them off in a while, there's just something he should put his finger on about Xemnas that borders familiar, but it's less in the sense of someone to be leery of. Glancing past the screen a moment, then passing the gear down to a set of grubby orange hands, Vanitas moves back and trots to stand near the two Charizards he let out earlier. It's a size comparison, of a human next to the black Charizard that is nearly his height to Dartanian towering an extra two feet over him.

Both Pokemon get returned, before he releases his Haxorus and Salamance in their places. Neither have the sheen of shiny, and the moment the Haxorus is formed, she lets out a battle cry before whipping her axe like head back and forth. No, she's not doing any charging, she just thought she had a fun fight to get to! The Salamance on the other hand, looks bored the moment he realizes there isn't a fight either and simply settles down, folding his wings.

Another size comparison; the Salamance is about a foot taller, and the Haxorus only a little larger, but she lacks wings.]

From:

firstnothing

[Letting people show off really is for Xemnas' benefit. Others might find it terribly arrogant, but he found it full of useful information. Seeing other pokemon at their greatest power gave him an idea of what to plan for.. by way of catching his own or how to subdue the very creatures he's being shown.

It never hurts to be prepared.

Which means Xemnas and his two pokemon are quite intently watching; the rest of his team likely asleep. Unfortunately it still doesn't show who he is, with those noses in the way.]

These two, what are they called? The leaner one without wings seems far more aggressive.

[There's no sense that 'aggressive' means 'bad' in his dictionary.]

From:

shadowdive

[He's far enough back that had the noses of those Pokemon moved, it would have been more difficult to see anyway, unfortunately. He hears him though, so he trots back in closer to answer the question, looking almost childishly excited. On one hand, this has been a long attempt at letting himself feel positive emotions; on the other, if Vanitas knew how ridiculous he looked, he'd be toning it down by trying to be serious.

It's never a win win.]

Salamance and Haxorus. Without the wings is the Haxorus, her name is Kat, the other Kodak. The common dragon weakness is ice and other dragons, but a good one I don't have that counteracts both is called a Kingdra. It's a water and dragon type, meaning ice does diddly, and it has high health so you have to really work at knocking one of those out.

From:

firstnothing

They are very impressive creatures.

[It's an allowance, perhaps due to the almost genuinely boyish happiness Vanitas seemed to be showing. While Xemnas probably didn't care one way or another whether or not he was happy, it was ... good to attempt at least one or two positive relationships. Just in case.]

You must be very proud of them. ... Are you intending to catch a kingdra, to fill in this possible weakness-gap?

From:

shadowdive

Raised them both from eggs. Yeah, I think Kingdra comes from a Pokemon called a Horsea, so it's one of the few things I need to look for when I hear people selling eggs again.

From:

firstnothing

A remarkable set as they are. I admit the .. ah, haxorus? Appears to be far more fierce than her winged companion, is this so? Or merely appearances?

[Horsea. A mental note is made; he'll need to get one at some point.]

Where did you acquire these eggs from? A specific breeder?

From:

shadowdive

Yeah, Kat likes to fight more than Kodak does, but both will get up and antsy when I used to take on gym leaders. She does look more fierce with that axe for a skull though, huh?

Not really anyone specific, but Riku winds up with egg batches from time to time. They just start happening when you get a lot of Pokemon, or you start traveling with someone. Karkat and I wind up with batches sometimes too, though they're not as frequent since we try to keep handfuls of them apart. We both just have too many Pokemon.

From:

firstnothing

I see. I am glad none of mine have seen fit to indulge in that particular sort of activity.

[Something in his tone also says he better not have to in the future either and the blitzle visibly cringes, no matter how mild the tone. Noooo they'll be behaving themselves. No eggs here!]

You no longer actively battle them? Have you run out of challenges worthy of your time?

From:

shadowdive

They're probably too young or there aren't any in your party with the same egg groups yet. [Good luck with that tone bro, Vanitas is chuckling over here.]

No, unfortunately the elite four hasn't been open since I've been here, and I have all sixteen badges. Since I have so many level 100 Pokemon, it's hard to find them challenges now, so they tend to just fight each other.

From:

firstnothing

'Egg groups'. I see I have further research ahead of me. I presumed they stayed within their species.

Have you fought other trainers that have been here as long as you? There may be no prize other than bragging rights but to some such a reward would be worth the time and effort.

From:

shadowdive

You'll be surprised what breeds with what.

Sometimes, but then we have to put self imposed restrictions on the battle that wind up more boring than we wanted.

[Taking his gear back from the Scrafty he had holding it, he returns the two dragons and takes an ungraceful flump into his chair next to the Pokemon, but with the camera turning with him, it shows his "chair" is actually a large blue and white fluffy Altaria, who simply chirps a pleased greeting at the stranger on the screen.]

From:

firstnothing

[It takes several moments of processing for Xemnas to acknowledge that yes, the boy IS using a bird as a chair.]

What sort of restrictions? One would assume a near free-for-all would be ideal. Anything bitten off, gouged out or torn off would have to be handed back afterwards, of course.

From:

shadowdive

[Sanaa is the best chair ever kthx.]

Except most people bitch and complain if their Pokemon gets hurt beyond typical battle standards, and it's frowned upon to have a legitimate "wild beast". Dartanian is actually a lot calmer than he used to be, the bit I've gathered from asking psychic types is that he was initially raised by a vicious woman with light hair and an affinity for shocking the shit out of him through a Luxray.

From:

firstnothing

A legitimate 'wild beast' would not listen to orders to leave off when the opponent is defeated. Savagery is not always disobedience. ... While it is .. unfortunate your pokemon was so abused, he seems to be significantly better currently.

From:

shadowdive

Riku has an Aerodactyl called Terror that I don't think has been any bit tamed either. Mm, though it didn't come without him snapping my shoulder once.