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Post by vartio on Dec 2, 2021 13:42:17 GMT 11
Advanced note for reader
This topic opens up in another RP's world. My character is a 'transplant' from another site, with the admins blessing. As such some confusion is to be expected, but enjoy my character's temporary state at his best before his blatant nerf!
Parts 1 and 2 of this topic will address my character's last actions before ending up in Johto. 4 and beyond will be the proper beginning (and give the staff time to get around to moderating).
Chapter 1 Part 1: The beginning of an end. Djenganti Monastery. Located just south of the northern most landmark in the land of Godai. Steeped in the region's long lasting culture, likely going back to the founding of the nation. The location was like nothing else in the region, with an unnatural calm at night that would stir the ghost pokemon from their slumber. A place of great spiritual meaning, and a place of strong belief. The tiled roofs rose in slants and curves that lead to a unique, ornate architecture, the perimeter larger than one would imagine at their first glance. And at the top laid giant, bells in the towers, unringing, except in presence of the divine.
The halls were barely enough for two grown men, shoulder to shoulder, but the layout easily could confuse the senses of those who wandered them. Confuse them in the secrets of many hidden passages, including those to the basement of the structure. A secret that required instruction from the location's Elder, Momo, and given only to those who had proven themselves with the badges of the region. One such individual worthy of those secrets now wandered those halls.
Hair a greyish white, were it transparent one would have mistaken it for wisps of ghostly fingers licking off the head of the under 6 foot tall individual, accompanying jade green eyes that seemed to pierce through the foggy, dusty mists that choked the atmosphere as much as they could choke the lungs with each step within. Matching the eyes were a green haori of flaafy-wool that wrapped around a blue woven kosode of non-silken material, more resembling a gi in terms of structure, encompassing the chest of the almost pale skin of the host within, and tied to the waist by a black leather belt that also encircled his hidden pants waistband. Were it not for what little light the host carried, one lucky to catch what little light was in the room would perhaps think the body was floating, pants swallowed in darkness as deep as their black material, bar one crimson cloth wrapped around it like a bandana."Swear I need to stop coming out here, especially at night," muttered a young voice, clearly male and yet soft beyond its years, fitting one who was sheltered and rarely exerted himself physically. A gentle squeak emanated from behind him, a small purple head wrapping around him, that of a Rattata. A runt in size compared to most of its species, she kept herself wrapped around the back of his neck with her paws resting on his shoulders. The small rodent's nose twitched gently in the air, back in her home, curiously searching out signs of her sibling, still worried about the damage that ever annoying brother of hers could commit to her cherished trainer. The story between this Pokemon and trainer, however, would be a story for later."But not like those Riolu come out often anyhow. If I'm going to catch them off guard, going to be around now."Affirmingly, the small Rattata squeaked twice while twitching her whiskers, a small tinge of worry in her eyes for her trainer's safety. She could tell something was amiss, but what, she had not quite yet figured. Rather than worry, the small rodent curled and licked her trainer's cheek to perk him up, resulting in a gentle pat on her head that resulted in a squeak and light purr.
The dust was stronger than normal, and there was an almost unnatural fog in the air. Vartio had been here before, and it was nothing like this before. Susan's trying to assure him had instead alerted him off - she rarely distracted him while he was investigating. Something had knocked up the dust, and in large amounts.
Both were right. Something was direly amiss in Djenganti. Little did either know, their lives would soon cease from this world.
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Post by vartio on Dec 2, 2021 15:47:53 GMT 11
Chapter 1 Part 2: Like a Ghost The basements of Djenganti were always a dangerous location. Requiring badges to visit them was not a choice made lightly. Mayhaps it was because Gym badges in Godai were more than a token of skill, they were almost social icons. To complete any gym was not something one could just overcome. A pokemon's rough strength was gauged based on their strongest move, and thenThe basements of Djenganti were always a dangerous location. Requiring badges to visit them was not a choice made lightly.
Mayhap it was because Gym badges in Godai were more than a token of skill, they were almost social icons. To complete any gym was not something one could just overcome. A pokemon's rough strength was gauged based on their strongest/most evolved pokemon's strongest move, and then met by placing pokemon which would require similar volumes of training to be that one's competitor. This made the battles chaotic and more about skill than simply throwing power against a wall to be overcome.
Even acquiring a single badge was something in the minority amongst those who tried. One could train a whole team of fully trained Pokemon, and fail to acquire a single badge vs a gym leader. And the Champion and the Elite 4 so respected they effectively had a seat at government. To earn a badge was a sign of trust, skill, and potential. Enough to trust with dangerous locales.
That would not mean that a trainer was prepared for whatever they would encounter.
Vartio pulled a pokeball off his belt, the device as large as his palm. Curling his hand slightly around it, he propped his thumb against the device's frontal button.
"Shedibi, come out."
The device flipped open via a hatch on its back, the insides of the device whirling with energy as it released a stockpile of aura that released into the form of a floating, pale peach bug baring a grey belly with a halo above its head, commonly referred to as a Shedinja. Releasing a call unique to its species, the bug moving in front of its trainer.
"Keep close, but scan ahead."
Shedibi twitched its head shortly before fluttering about a short distance ahead, the halo providing a gentle light, but not revealing much within the dust-mist that was the basement. Susan let out a series of squeaks, looking around in the darkness. The candle Vartio carried in with him provided some light, but they had to rely on their pokemon moreso. And Shedinja was amazingly quick, buzzing about as it scanned for something, but soon even its own movements slowed down, the sense of dread in the area was building.
It didn't take an empath - one of the few forms of 'super' human power in Godai, to tell. Something was nearby. And yet not a noise had been made. Something surreal to the surroundings.
FlLlsrLlJlqWS
An alien sensation echoed through the air. It was unlike anything Vartio ever felt. Susan squeaked out in terror rapidly, darting around and into Vartio's haori, her hind legs kicking and wiggling as she snuck away into her favorite inner-pocket against Vartio's heart, now beating like it desired to escape its cage. Hesitantly the small Rattata head poked out of the gap from the haori-jacket.
The slightest shift could be seen in the fog off to Vartio's left periphery. Vartio went with his experience - Djenganti was a haunt for ghost type pokemon, and one move in Shedibi's arsenal was especially helpful.
"Shadow Sneak!" called out the human trainer, his eyes glancing where he saw the shift.
Godaian pokemon did not understand human words, yet were keen at understanding rough intent from their trainers, with experience. The attack should have been flawless, shadow traversing the darkness at astounding speeds to strike, yet not a sound was made. Had the target moved, or perhaps it had never been there? Was it all an illusion of the mind caused by the dust mist that lingered? What even was this mist? Why wasn't he sneezing on it to begin with? New thoughts began rushing through his head.
The first thought he had was he had to escape. He came in the night, he was already unprepared, but ever since that incident with the Golurk and Alakazam in Eveline temple, to the east, he had never felt this sort of risk before.
That thought wasn't given a second to stew.
A beam flew by Vartio's head, smashing into the large source of light past him, knocking Shedinja to the ground and its light dimming instantly. Knocked out before it could evade.
His flesh felt like it chilled instantly, his hairs stood on end and he felt a lump appear in his throat. Terror. Almost instinctively he activated the recall by pressing a small button on the pokeball Shedibi belonged to, a tracker linking to the Shedinja's aura and unleashing its own aura to pull it back in, compressing it back into aura for stasis, his body snapping otherwise to turn towards the source of the unknown beam.
Nothing. Instead that mysterious noise returned.
tyUjiciJLY
"The hell is going on here!?"
Frustration and terror melted together into a voice drenched with terror. Susan knew she was out of her depth and scurried down and out of the jacket, pressing the return command on her own ball without hesitation, returning to its 'comfort'. Vartio had never seen her react this terrified before, as to retreat like that. His next instinct was to rely on his 'ace'. It had defeated a Steelix that had wrecked the landscape before, it could do it right!? Then his thought draw to how quickly Shedibi was defeated. No, it wouldn't work!
His left hand grasped his right wrist, the latter suddenly shaking enough to vibrate both of his arms. He was trying to breathe but could only feel the terror and anxiety control his every motion. And it was then he noticed it. Then he could feel it.
It was like a dark heartbeat engulfing his whole being. No, that wouldn't describe it. It was alien beyond description. Sensations that couldn't be described with human words, a mixture of thoughts and emotions, sensations and fluctuations in every single part of him.
Tears began streaming down his eyes, his head turning only to see something reach for him, his mind too wracked by the sensations to realize what was happening.
Thump. Something pressed against him. His senses, completely overwhelmed, couldn't comprehend what just happened. Did something push him? A weird sensation, that could only be described as 'shattering', embraced his back - how could shattering embrace anyhow!? He felt the ground, the sky, everything cease to be around him. Webs of light appeared in his peripherals before his sight was near instantly after engulfed in light, with a dot of darkeness expanding and dragging like it pierced through his mind and wrapped around him.
His mind began experiencing sensations he couldn't explain. Weird thoughts filled his head, like was he feeling colors? Smelling texture? Hearing taste? It was hard and alien beyond description for his mind to comprehend.
Dots of light appeared and dragged apart so quick they became beams of light as well. Colors blended and dragged, and yet he couldn't feel anything but a weird sensation. Was this... excitement? Gently, he broke into laughter as his mind felt like it broke. His last outside sensation before going unconscious from the overload... felt like giggling...
A ghost born to history, never to be seen again. A ghost born of mystery, one never to be seen.
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Post by vartio on Dec 7, 2021 8:47:00 GMT 11
Chapter 1 Part 3: "Having Fallen"
Throbbing. Pulsing. The motions of human life could be broken down to these two words. The heart beats, the veins pulse as they pump blood. And the sensations of this are what one could deem 'life' to an average human. To that end, after what had occurred, what Vartio is could be deemed 'alive'. But what is the proof of life, if not one's battle with suffering.
Within the darkness of his mind, with each throb and pulse of his organs, flame awoke through the body. First in the chest, then throughout. The flames gathered and seared throughout the back. A sensation all too familiar to the individual. And with the sensation oh so apparent, the brain deigned to awaken fully. There was no dream, his memory frayed at the edges of what occurred.
Like a TV flickering on, the eyes recovered all vision in an instant, without effort spent to opening the eyelids. Blurs, multiple colors, too blended together to comprehend met the young man's eyes. It was not like the last sensations that vaguely spoke to him in the back of his mind, but rather an entirely new sensation.
Greens, sky blues, shades, and sharp whites. Shapes that incomprehensible were in view, and yet ephemeral. Shifting and moving, patterns in motion. Breath was confirmed. The searing now deemed pain. Fingers twitched and slight motions made to test himself. Moving his body felt like trying to move a sleeping Golem - or so he figured. Prickly sensations ran as his joints, and soon he was able to grasp into the ground. Coarse, some hard, some parts soft, hard coming in different sizes. The soft dug between his fingernails and fingers.
'Ah, now that's a familiar sensation.'
What person with a decent youth wouldn't recognize that sensation? With a realization of a coherent thought, his mind began reacting in reply. Patterns began more clear. With the mind's help, what once was shifting colors shifted into rough shapes. Greens to rough foliage. Shades to branches. Blues to the sky and the whites to the light.
'Outside?'
His memory, even with it being frayed like a singed tapestry, still knew he shouldn't be 'outside'. Where he was and where he is shared a similar term in his mind - unknown.
As he pressed himself to sit upright, thoughts ran through his head. What happened? The last solid memory he had was Djenganti monastery in his sights. Where did everything split off?
With every passing moment he focused on slowly raising himself until he was upon one foot and one knee. His eyesight having returned, his focus was on deep breaths to help with the searing pain of his back.
'How is this possible?'
How could one go from underground, to falling on one's back outside? The muscle atrophy implied either intense cold or time had set him back, and yet he didn't feel like he'd decayed physically. He was moving too quick based on what little he knew of medical recovery from comas, and his body was in a rather warm area.
Nothing made sense.
'Okay, first thing's first, let's stand up...'
With a push, he rose up to a stand, his back aching as his muscles pulled. The pain confirmed that he was alive - no dream would let one feel pain like this.
With eyesight restored, he looked at himself. A bit roughed up, but not worse for wear. At the least there was no visible lacerations on his arms. No, that also didn't make sense. He had to 'fall' based on the pain on his back. It may not have been far, but he fell. Yet above him lay a canopy of tree branches. How could he not feel the sting of smashing into those, or have cuts from the branches scraping his hands or face?
In fact there were too few leaves around him to match that. He fell from under the tree canopy? Nothing made sense anymore.
"Raaaat!" called out a 'voice' from behind. Turning around, Vartio was confused. That was clearly a 'voice' but it didn't sound all that human. Then from the bush leaped out a large tan blob, its paws digging into the ground as it let out a lower volume 'ticate'!
"What the hell?!"
The Pokemon was not the confusing bit for Vartio. He was quite familiar with the Rattata family, considering he had Susan and ran into her brother, a Raticate itself. But what stood out to him was the size. He figured it about the size of Sigilyph, a bit smaller than the Alakazam he had ran into recently.
Perhaps every bit as confusing was this Pokemon.. 'spoke'? He knew Espers and Empaths could 'read' a pokemon's emotions in the way they read humans, but never did one 'speak', especially not their name. They may emulate speech, but they only made calls unique to each species and general noises like squeaks - with Pikachu and Eevee being an exception.
Slowly, it approached Vartio, hissing as it swayed its tail in the air, clearly intending to strike.
Thoughts about what was occurring has to be back-pocketed for the time being. He had to play careful considering the Raticate's size - it could be another monstrous pokemon like the Golurk or the Alakazam. His whole team he brought bar one member was weak to bite - a common enough move every Rattata family knew. So that made his choice easy enough if he wasn't going to subject Susan to the monstrous rodent.
"Okay then, Shinojask, you're up!"
Pulling his pokeball off his belt, Vartio moved to press the open button, only for the device to spark with crimson black. The ball refused to open.
"Oh Muk..."
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Post by vartio on Dec 7, 2021 9:24:11 GMT 11
Chapter 1Part 4: A Quick Escape.Without hesitation, Vartio turned and ran as hard as he could, the Raticate hopping after him. Vartio had gone in combat against your average Raticate, but this oversized specimen was something else entirely - and he had Honaur then after Raticate had already been weakened.
Snapping the ball back onto his belt, Vartio shifted his weight and grabbed onto two more, pulling them out and pressing the buttons. They were sealed too, the reddish-black sparks popping off he attempted to pull them out.
"What in Arceus' name is going on here!?"
Nothing was making sense. How could it make sense. Falling into a mysterious coma in the Monastery, waking up like he fell from an impossible location. His pokeballs didn't work and he was dealing with a giant talking Raticate chasing him.
Vartio reached back for the right pocket of his backpack, his hand traveling over the dirt-covered pocket to pop open the top, only to find with dismay that the max repels he kept in there were gone. Was he robbed? He would need to take a more detailed check of his items later.
"CATE!"
Vartio hear a noise behind him, the sound of the giant Raticate attempting to lunge at him from behind. While Vartio was no expert at this sort of thing, he knew the sounds of effort. He attempted to pivot and run to his left, only for the Raticate to smash into his backpack and send him spinning for a bit. If not for practice with his balance as a child from his granduncle's Abra using confusion on him as a tease as a child, he would probably have fallen outright to the ground, a hand reaching out as he intentionally fell to steady himself and push himself forwards, barely escaping a second tackle by the giant Raticate.
"I swear to Mew this is why I will never let Susan evolve."
Vartio turned around having gained a bit of a gap, now looking at the Raticate again. It seemed to be pulsating with a crimson-black energy of its own, not altogether different from what was happening with his Pokeballs. Had this Raticate used some unknown electric type move? Where was he? The forest wasn't like Djenganti, was this Kagereta Woods? No, the formerly known 'Rottshade' wouldn't look this Verdant. The Verdant Highlands may have had trees but he never heard of a section this densely covered. Another country then?
"Well, guess it's time to use my own Pokemon move..."
Reaching down, Vartio placed his hands on the ground. He wasn't going to get out of this easily. The Raticate launched forwards, and Vartio snapped his hand forwards while rolling to the side, dirt flinging from his hand at the Raticate as he tumbled and rolled into a run to his right.
"RATICAAAATE!"
The accompanying roar of anger spoke volumes. The dirt hit the Raticate in the eyes, and Vartio made a run for it. Even if Vartio lacked control of aura to use Sand Attack like a common Pokemon, the advantage of real sand/dirt was just that - it wasn't some weird interaction between Pokemon attacks and pokemon, but actual matter that wouldn't soon fade away. And Raticate were nothing if not incapable of properly cleaning their eyes. Their short grubby paws their ultimate downfall.
His retreat would only end with his lungs basically ablaze from overuse. Even if he walked miles a day everyday as part of his journey, Vartio felt bogged down by his body. Did something actually happen to him? Reaching the edge of the forest, Vartio came out at last, his body feeling 80 pounds heavier and 40 times as sweaty.
"Huh... someone came out!" called out a voice from nearby. "Call the Professor!"
Vartio blinked and turned his head, a man in a research coat was yelling in the distance to a small group of other 'researchers'. The one who called out approached Vartio slowly, looking at him. At the least this man wasn't speaking Pokemon noises, that was a good change of pace after the Raticate speaking with phonemes.
"Uhh... hello. Do you mind coming with me for a bit? I have someone who may be interested in meeting you."
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Tarlar
Cap Queen
Posts: 28,609
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Post by Tarlar on Dec 9, 2021 0:53:44 GMT 11
Vartio wouldn't get much time to answer the question asked, if any at all as something crashed through the shrubbery behind him. "Caaaaaate!" Something shouted and the giant raticate from before snapped a lesser tree as it came bulldozing, not wanting Vartio to get away for one reason or another. "Great Arceus!" The researcher gasped, well at least it seemed this place knew about the same pokemon as Vartio, and shouted was heard from the group in the distance. The researcher would grab Vartio's arm and try pull him with him, if he wasn't already running. A big green elephant came thundering in their direction and it trumpeted a warning to the raticate, swinging its trunk wildly. Several humans was following it running, one let out a koffing who picked up speed, also with the direction of the raticate. The battle was swift, two against one, even if the one held unusual powers, was not really equal and the raticate was quickly subdued with the weight of the the copperajah on top of it. "Are you alright?" A woman asked winded while looking from Vartio to the man who had met him first, and the man nodded. "I'm fine Emma," he said with a wave and also turned to look at Vartio, "where did you find that beast? Looks like the totems from Alola but this one is a kantonian one," the assistant asked a bit confused. Vartio would have time to answer before Emma would notice something and quietly say, "here comes Veronica."A woman in her twenties and in a lab coat came running eagerly with some sort of device in her hand, which she raised to scan the raticate. Her expression quickly turned to disappointment when the machine apparently didn't give her the information she hoped for. Some random dude came over and offered Vartio a silver like blanket which rattle slightly when touched, he might discover now that is was actually pretty chilly, especially since he was so sweaty. The ground was muddy and slippery although there weren't much left of the snow which had fallen days prior, the wind was lively and cold now he was not in the shelter of the trees anymore. The blanket was for Vartio to cover himself with, and while it seemed not very effective, it would turn out be really warm. Veronica came over, "I don't know about the raticate, but it's not from the wormhole," she said disappointed and first then noticed Varrio, she frowned. "Kent, who's that? This is a restricted area while we investigate the wormhole, it can be dangerous," she said snappy. The man who had talked with Vartio first began to answer but Veronica's got distracted when her device began to bip. She slowly raised it, her frown growing deeper the higher she lifted it, until it pointed directly at Vartio, then her face slowly eased into one of pure wonder. "This... this.." She said while Kent and Emma looked confused between Vartio and Veronica, the wormhole researcher's face broke into an excited grin. "He's a Faller!" She declared and looked like a kid in a candyshop. "A what?" Asked Emma but Veronica was looking Vartio up and down before she cleared her throat. "Veronica," She said slowly and pointed to herself, "I, am, a, friend. Do, you, understand?" She said slowly, pronouncing each word clearly. "Oh," She'd say when she learned Vartio understood her just fine, "That's great!" And then she'd bombard him with questions about where he came from, how he got in an out of the wormhole, what's it was like inside the wormhole and why he had decided to come out here. She she was interrogating Vartio yet another youngish man came strolling over, he had a bit of an absentminded look on his face and his hair was a mess. "Veronica, give him a break," he said kindly and she jumped and squeeked when she saw him, "Professor Elm!""If he has just gotten through the wormhole as you say, then he surely will need some time to adjust and there will be plenty of time to answer any of your questions later," he said laughing awkwardly and Veronica pouted. "Yes Sir," she said begrudgingly and sent Vartio a longing glance, "I hope you'll help with my research later on," she said hopefully to Vartio as a parting farewell before turning back to her machine. "Come along young man, my Lab is not far away," Elm said and gestured to Vartio to follow him, "what is your name? Oh I shall do my best to answer any questions!" Kent tagged along quietly. (ooc: I hope this useful RESERVED)
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Post by vartio on Feb 22, 2022 10:25:30 GMT 11
An offer to meet someone? Who would want to meet him? What was going on here? Everything simultaneously was and wasn't making sense. A short series of blinks preluded the sounds crashing behind him.
"Crap!" His legs turned him around as quickly as he could, barely in time for the moment the Raticate burst through the grove. His mind became distracted by a word passing his ears, and found his legs unable to move, chills running through his body.
Were it not for the motions of the researcher grabbing his arm, Vartio likely would not have moved at all. His legs mostly moved on reflex to keep up, motor skills struggling to keep him balanced as he was dragged along. All his focus went into running until his attention was distracted by a mosque green mass charging through the peripheral of his sight. The trumpet caused his body to freeze up, and the researcher to find that moving Vartio was again like moving a 136 lb brick by dragging a 7 pound limb. His eyes were now on the trumpeting massive pokemon that smashed the Raticate with its trunk, only for an additional pokemon to appear.
'Koffing?' His eyes blinked widely as he took in the semi-surreal scene as two pokemon battled and handily caught the Raticate underfoot. His mind was trying to comprehend the events going on. Two of these were clearly Pokemon, that much he knew. There was a third too, but was that a pokemon from a region outside of Godai and Isda, or something different entirely? The scientist deep down didn't let him make any preconceptions. But that train of thought too was dismantled.
As a woman ran up to the group, Vartio's eyes looking over at the individual, his thoughts defaulted first on what was going on. His body felt heavy and inconsistent. He could move fine now. He was still slow, but he could move his body. So why was he freezing up shortly before?
A disjoint? Did he require mental focus on moving just to move? Were his motorskills shot after whatever happened to him that lead to him appearing here? Would it fade or was it just some form of debilitation he couldn't process?
"Where did you find that beast? Looks like the totems from Alola but this one is a kantonian one."
His focus returned to the world around him, his head turning to look at the male researcher who had dragged him to safety.
"Kantonian?" A few thoughts quickly crossed his head. He had heard of Isdan before, but the common variant of Rattata and Raticate to his knowledge never received a regional title as they were the common worldwide form. But further than that, he never heard of a region, country, or continent referred to as "Kanton" or "Kanto", based on the name they used. This curious confusion was easy to track in the tone of his voice.
It was at this time that a woman they deemed Veronica would approach, and she'd use some sort of device to scan the Raticate.
"An aural scanner of some sort. Maybe they work with Firebird." He muttered under his breath, his left hand moving in front of his mouth cupping his face with the thenar webspace.
Whatever they were looking for, this Raticate lacked it. Seems the mutation in this Raticate's size was unrelated. When offered the blanket-of-sorts, he took it and wrapped himself, although his body was still quite hot, there was an odd comfort to being in it for the moment, a nod his show of respect to the situation. It seemed similar to the sorts that people wore when traveling through Melka and Tiakhom Guard.
He didn't seem much offended by Veronica's strictness about the situation. Were he actively in the field researching he'd be mad at unexpected intruders as well. Afterall, nothing hurts research on conditions in an area like intruders.
It was then a keyword hit his ears: 'Wormhole'. His hand shot to the side of his skull as he felt a short flash of intense pain in his head, his eyes shooting open. 'Webs of Light'. The memory came back to him. This wasn't Godai. Was he in a different part of the world? At about this time they had announced 'he's a faller'. He looked at them, confused and shocked. He was a what?
Bombarding of questions, asking who he was, where he was from, was he friend, why he was in a wormhole. And yet now he could only feel that instability creeping in the back of his mind. Something in the back of his mind felt like it was decaying for a moment, and then that sensation was gone.
A man approached, some words had been said, words he couldn't understand due to the pain and panic, but ones he comprehended as meant to relieve him of anxiety.
This man had a lanky, unreliable appearance, but he had the airs of someone who was quite knowledgeable. Vartio's eyes closed as the woman named him. Elm. A sort of tree. Just that fact spawned thoughts in Vartio's head, leading to him shaking his head as the man spoke of giving him time to adjust.
The woman asked him to aide with her research, and he simply gave a small nod. He felt alone for the first time since he was a small child. Being invited to the lab, he nodded and slowly started to walk towards Elm, when asked for his name.
"My name's Vartio Artel. As for questions, I have one that will answer a lot in one shot: there is no country named Godai, is there?" spoke Vartio in a soft spoken, but direct voice towards Elm.
Were Vartio even a year younger, working under this sort of anxiety and circumstance would be beyond the pale of his abilities. But he had grown, fighting Pokemon and opposing trainers alike, having faced worry of death once even in a hostile trainer's Steelix. He still hadn't perfected it, but he'd come a long way since.
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Tarlar
Cap Queen
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Post by Tarlar on Feb 25, 2022 6:35:46 GMT 11
Professor Elm studied Vartio silently for a bit, "not from my knowledge no," he then answered quietly and continued in silence until they reached New Bark Town. "I guess that is where you come from. How much of this looks familiar?" Elm asked as he paused at the edge of New Bark Town. It was a little cozy town but with a research lab and it being the modern time, it was not lacking in those advances. There were only a few cars around, which had brought some of the researchers here, the houses were old fashioned mostly but well kept, and most had parabols or the like on the roofs. In the distance a thin, tall metal tower was seen (a mobile phone mast) and a couple of wind turbines. A modern white house which looked like it was made out of big white blocks laid at the edge of town. It was surrounded by a large wall and was full of trees and looked more than a forest than a garden, small figures moved around and while it was hard to make out what it was it most likely were pokemon since they moved around on all fours. "Anything which is different?" He added after having let Vartio take in the sight, he'd calmly explain what they were looking at if Vartio needed any explanation.
When the young man was ready, Professor Elm would lead him through the town, a few kids hung over a fence into one of the houses and watched them. "Are you a trainer?" One of them asked while he other gave him a light slap on the shoulder, "no, look! He's with the prof'sor, he's getting a pokemon!" "Oooh.." the first one said as realizing hit him, "what pokemon are you gonna pick?!" He shouted eagerly as Elm was leading Vartio away and out of earshot.
They made their way to the white, block building which was Elm's lab. A few pidgeys flapped from the roof and disappeared over the town, as Elm opened the door and held it for Vartio to step inside. "We're going into the first room on the right," He told Vartio and would stop abruptly and laugh sheepishly when they entered into a lot of mess. Papers were everywhere, several books were laying around most of them opened on pages, a laptop was half buried under a stack of papers and several empty mugs stood beside it on the table. "Sorry, I forgot I had been working in here last night," he said as he rushed around to clean the worst, which was mostly to shove stuff into drawers and remove stuff from the floor. "There! Take a seat!" He said as he had gotten the worst out of the way and gestured for Vartio to take the office chair while he pulled out another one for himself.
"So," Elm said as he leaned back and crossed his legs, "you seem to have been on quite a trip, how are you feeling?" He studied Vartio curiously.
(ooc: Flame body in affect, so 400 words added to each egg.)
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Post by vartio on Feb 25, 2022 9:21:08 GMT 11
Being studied wasn't an entirely new sensation. Wasn't it similar that the two gym leaders he had faced had at least looked him over? But this was different. The intent was different. He wasn't normal. Alien. And the words that accompanied him drew a pang of despair through him. His breath left his body slowly but firmly as he closed his eyes, slowing down as his thoughts direly travelled his mind. It made sense. Opening his eyes, he looked at the city in front of himself.
He'd been to four cities in his time in Godai. Eveline, Melka, Sangproctor, Cascadia. Memories all flowing through him, as though desperately trying to latch on, not to be forgotten. The people and places he'd never visit. His face seemed more like a sculpture's now, barely an emotion on it, and yet emotions flowed as tears down the cheeks of the man who had truly seemed to lose it all, an answer to the question initially posed at him as he stared at this town.
"All familiar things. A few older technology than home. But familiar enough." The culture here didn't seem to have reached quite the level of car utilization that Godai had. Full blown streets stretched cross towns and fields, linking the country together. He could only guess based on what he could see that the place had no visible structure that resembled a subway entrance or the sort. So similar and yet so different.
"It reminds me of smaller residential blocks of most cities. Areas that have yet to raise more than two stories. But here seems more in touch with nature. More akin to a village in the north of my homeland, but without log buildings dotting their townscape."
His arm slowly raised, moving that warming blanket to rub against his eyes shortly. He imagined the friends and rivals he had met, those he had lost. The things he would never accomplish. The dream he could never attain.
Once he had calmed, Elm had guided him once more through the town. Up close, the town indeed resembled buildings from his world. But he had something pecking away at the back of his mind, but he couldn't tell what, something that felt fundamentally different.
While thinking about what it was, he had a thought about something that was off.
"Wild Pokemon seem to be more willing to approach active human civilization in this world." He mused as he thought about it further. "You'd never see a Pokemon like that massive Raticate approaching human civilization unless it's far from a large population. A small monastary for example, or a hut out in the woods are one thing. But even a town this size shouldn't have pokemon approaching, unless they're especially bold or adventurerous." He had already noticed more than a few Pidgey that had flown into the town on their approach, making way to the rooftops.
"The biggest difference is a Pokemon unlike any from the countries of Godai or Isda. I had never seen that giant green pokemon with a long snout before. The metallic bronze sheen in the detailings... a steel type...?" Just explaining it seemed to take effort from Vartio, the term 'elephant' did not seem to exist in his library, so he had to take the liberties to just explain out the shape of the pokemon. Yet these are a pure, almost innocent enthusiasm to his describing the creature. The sign of a researcher at heart was flowing through him. His motions constantly slowing down whenever he thought heavily, his body struggling to keep up.
His musings were quickly interrupted, motion out of the corner of his eyes as kids called forth. They questioned if he was a trainer, he glanced and attempted to keep up with Elm. Elm. A tree... was this man like the three Professors known throughout the nation? These professors were also known for giving out Pokemon to aspiring trainers. Attempting his best to catch up, Vartio gave a soft sprint.
"Seems some things never change. Professors of renown who give out Pokemon to aspiring trainers. Are you government sanctioned as well? Did you invent something like Professor Ashford creating the PC System in my world? Or Maxwell who learned to restore Pokemon from fossils?" Vartio then stopped and thought about it. "Wait I guess that would be excessive wouldn't it... I doubt the 'Pokemon Professors' back in other nations were all great inventors too..." he quickly counterconcluded out loud.
Regardless how that conversation went, they eventually would reach the Elm Research Lab. The sight of Pidgey was reassuring after the Raticate and giant pokemon and Koffing, two of which were less than his upper list of pokemon favorites. His eyes wandered as they entered the building, and as he turned into the office, he saw a mess. A hell of a mess. His face twitched as his chest pulsed lightly, before he broke into a full laugh at the scene.
"Regardless of the world, us researchers can't seem to keep organized as we drain our thoughts into paper, data, or the like." His laughter turned into a light cough, as despite his talkative nature he had been stressed from the running not all that long prior. After a brief shake of his head, he walked to the suggested chair, he slowly twirled it as he sat down, leaning back. His face relaxed a bit, a mass of tension leaving his body as he wasn't standing on his own strength anymore, letting out a sigh of exasperation.
"So, you seem to have been on quite a trip, how are you feeling?"
It was such a simple, yet oddly loaded question. One that lead to loaded feelings. He had a short spat of it outside, but all the same, now he wasn't stressing himself to do anything else but let the emotions flow.
"It's hard to explain. A turmoil of emotions run through me. Curiosity. Fear. Wanderlust. Despair. My thoughts are mixed in in well. The thought I am in another world. That much is obvious by this point. So far the laws of physics line up, although whether there's any subtle differences I've yet to see. For every minor conclusion I can make nearly two new questions come up. This isn't a manner of time-travel, but clearly an alternate Earth or perhaps another planet altogether. There's also the curious question of language: why are we speaking the same language? Why are our bodies so similar that we'd develop similar speech systems. The plausibility of a multiverse is interesting in itself... which begs the question on if your world's Arceus and mine are one and the same. There's so many questions, so many possibilities, and yet, with all that excitement... I will never see home again."
Those tears ran down his face, curling around his cheeks as he laid back, his body shaking lightly as he held back a sob.
"Everything I ever knew, everything I ever loved, gone. Eve..." At that moment he lightly shuffled his hand to a special node installed on his belt. Interestingly he had seven Pokeballs on his hip, more than the average six common to this world. He pulled off a certain Pokeball, the device laid dormant. Whether it had power or not was a mystery unto itself. It seemed regardless what he went through, his Pokemon were still with him. And with a soft embrace, he held it close to his chest, sobbing with some joy to his situation.
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OOC: (1251 words)
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Tarlar
Cap Queen
Posts: 28,609
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Post by Tarlar on Feb 28, 2022 7:54:05 GMT 11
Elm raised an eyebrow surprised at Vartio's answer. "Older? Huh, that's surprising, but then it will probably be easier for you if it looks alike," Elm said cheerfully. "New Bark Town is also rather small and quiet, gives me lot of peace for my research," Elm said and sighed with a smile as he studied the town which spread in front of them. "If you prefer more bustling cities, and probably one which is less in touch with nature, you should go to Goldenrod City, it's the biggest in this Region, and the most modern too. The nearest one is Cherrygrove City, which is famous for all its flowers. They should be blooming soon." He didn't react on Vartio's tears and probably hadn't even noticed they were there as he continued to chat about the differences of the city in Johto.
Elm glanced at Vartio when he mused aloud, "Pokemon are living close with humans, but of course you'll see that more in smaller towns close to the wilderness than in Goldenrod. Cherrygrove is the exception due to all its flowers and green patches which attracts them. We do strive after living in harmony with Pokemon and I think we are doing a pretty good job," The professor said, casting a glance at the pidgeys which flew away. "As for the raticate," he continued but paused, "it is very unusual size. If I didn't know better I would say it was a Totem pokemon but those are belonging in the Alola Region and not here," he said slowly and was deep in thought as he lead the way inside. He answered Vartio's question absentminded like he hadn't really heard it, "it's a steel type yes, copperajah. It's from the Galar Region and is working very well with humans."
"Mostly independent," Elm answered, still sounding absentminded. "Hmm? No it is Bill who has made The Storage System. Devon Corporations developed the reviving of fossils. The professors are experts in their fields, I know about breeding and evolution, but Professor Oak has invented the Pokedex which is invaluable for both trainers and Professors." His distracted tone of voice got a hint of pride as he talked about Oak. "Oh!" He said and laughed sheepishly as they entered his study room, a smile spread on his face and he joined Vartio's laugh.
Elm was a good listener, you should be to be a good researcher as a lot of informations you got from people telling about their experiences and thoughts. While he talked Vartio would hear a light scratching sound as Elm made a few quick notes on a block of paper. Professor Elm's expression went soft as he saw the tears. "It can't be easy," he mumbled and made another few quick notes before he laid the block aside and stood up. He patted Vartio a bit awkwardly on the shoulder. "That might very well be, but if you have gotten one way through, there is a chance you could go the other way too. We have researchers who are investing all their time in these wormholes and I'm sure they'd love to help you. I.. I don't want to lie, from my knowledge we aren't anywhere near being able to travel through but we might be in a few years," he said in an attempt encourage Vartio, "don't give up hope." "They are still there, at least they are not dead," Elm said in an attempt to lighten Vartio's mood. His eyes darted to the pokeballs when the young man touched them. "If you don't mind me asking, is that your pokemon you have there? If they are someone whom you have brought with you, you are not alone!" Elm added encouragingly.
"Cor?" A voice from the door asked, it was a corsola who looked confused at the situation. "It's alright Corsola, he's just missing home," Elm said reassuringly, "Will you go get Mimi please?" The corsola disappeared out the door again. If asked, Elm would explain it was his assistant he had asked for.
(ooc: 400 added to both eggs, flame body)
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Post by vartio on Mar 1, 2022 8:48:28 GMT 11
Vartio heard all of Elm's replies, remaining quiet while he held that Pokeball, when a question was asked of him.
"They are still there, at least they are not dead... If you don't mind me asking, is that your pokemon you have there? If they are someone whom you have brought with you, you are not alone!"
His eyes opened, staring at the ball in his hands. The ball had some small scratches and small dents, signs of the many times he had to pull the occupant out over his year.
The occupant. Memories of the rodent pokemon ran through his head almost as though it was yesterday. From the moment she first showed up and he had reservations, to her putting her life on the line to risk aiding him against the Persian that had protected the relic box. Even now he could see her run down his shoulder, run up to the gym leader he had challenged back in the day, and stand on her hind leg to raise a paw in a greeting. A year or so prior you would never hear him say a Rattata was the most precious pokemon in his life. And yet, here he was, wanting the rodent inside to be safe.
Almost immediately a noise came from the side, and he turned to see a Corsola bouncing in through the door, calling out to Elm. He could only smile lightly at the two's interaction before the Corsola leaped back out to get the person Elm had beckoned.
"Yes... inside this ball here particularly is the first wild pokemon I caught. A little Rattata runt named Susan. You could say she's an anchor. Someone who kept my mood up when it was low, and relied on me as much as I relied on her."
He softly grazed his thumb over the button for the unleash mechanism, only for a small black and crimson spark to release itself. Just being close to Vartio's thumb seemed to set it off.
"When I tried to fight out there, to protect myself from that oversized Raticate, I found the Pokeball of two of my Pokemon, a Ninjask I had recently evolved and a Hypno, had malfunctioned like that."
He leaned back and looked at the ceiling of the building.
"It's still so weird. Like a dream I want to wake up from. And yet I've felt the burn from the dirt and branches against my flesh. I've smelled the air and felt my body struggle more than I have in about 6 years. I'm here. This is real. This isn't some cheap dream."
He closed his eyes and began to think to himself, a deep breath being taken. His eyes opened, gazing at that ceiling like there was nothing else in the world as his hand squeezed the pokeball ever so slightly tighter. What would Susan be doing to him about now? His thoughts dragged to that. The mischievious rodent was ever so intune with his emotions, Godaian pokemon were especially strong in empathy, and Susan had the highest bond to him of any of his pokemon.
Almost as though a ghost was there, his cheek felt like it was pushed in very slightly twice. Yet no visible signs could be seen by Elm, nor when he glanced about could he see anything. Was his mind just convincing himself of what he wanted to feel? He could almost imagine her squeaking gently to ease him.
"I think I should go more into detail about what happened before I ended up here. If you don't mind my story."
Vartio softly put the Pokeball back on his waist, the device attaching through a magnetic clamp within the belt before reaching into his kosode. He pulled out a small device, a vertical-rectangular cutty sark green - same as Vartio's jacket - wrapped around his neck via a tough lanyard-like strap, which seemed to have been hidden by his neck and haori and kosode both. The device bore a screen that seemed to cover about half of its surface area in the upper-center, a button underneath the screen in a metallic semicircular region, and a joystick-like apparatus in the bottomleft. The top of the structure had a small portion curved in a semi-circular fashion, making it resemble horns, with a small projection-lens near the top. The bottom side, which was briefly visible, seemed to have a slot of some sort.
The back, most visible to Elm, seemed to have the classic signs of screws and the sort to keep the device closed and secure due to proprietary technology. In addition a camera near the top and a visible kickstand embedded into the structure.
"Now let's see if I can get this to work..." Vartio muttered, his thumb pressing a few buttons, attempting to get the device to work. However, it didn't take long for him to give up, lightly glancing at the backside of the device.
"Whatever happened must have damaged the battery or important circuit. For all I know I might need to make a workaround or contact a tech company about finding a solution for this..." Vartio muttered out loud.
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OOC: (856 words)
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Tarlar
Cap Queen
Posts: 28,609
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Post by Tarlar on Mar 5, 2022 8:23:21 GMT 11
"A true partner," Elm agreed warmly, "what most trainers dream about when they start out on their journey, though most expect it to be their chosen starter." To Elm it was nice to hear someone talking so fondly about a common pokemon as rattata, as a lover of all pokemon he found it sad that people was so quick to dismiss it just because it was common and might not have the best reputation. the professor frowned when the black sparks jumped from he pokeballs and it deepened when Vartio revealed the pokeballs where malfunctioned. He glanced at Vartio when he spoke again how he felt. "It cannot be easy to adjust to, but I'm sure it'd be better if we could get your pokemon out here with you. I cannot do much for you, but if you will allow me, I can at least try fix those," Elm said determined and held a hand out towards Vartio's pokeballs, "May I?" He would ask and wait for Vartio to accept and hand him a pokeball. If he was handed one, he'd begin to turn it in his hands carefully, examine it thoroughly. If not he'd look disappointed but not press the matter, his eyes would be glued to the pokeballs and he'd get a distracted thoughtful look on his face as he still tried to solve the problem. If he had had the pokeball he'd hand it back to Vartio and then walk to his chair to listen what Vartio could tell.
Elm looked curiously at the device in the young man's hands, "I know a lot about machinery but I fear I will come short when it comes to that. Is it a communication device?" He leaned back thoughtful, "you might be able to find a Tech Company who'd help you, although your biggest chance of someone specialising in repairs would be in Goldenrod City, perhaps there are some smaller one-man ones in Violet City, but it depends on what you think you need."
A shadow fell through the door as Mimi stepped in, she was a woman in her thirties with short brown hair and an air of practicality about her. "A new trainer? Here to pick up a starter?" She asked and Elm shook his head but lightened up. "Not quite I'm afraid, although that could be a good idea as a solution," Elm said cryptically and Mimi looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Soo, why did you call me here again?" She asked slowly and Elm grinned sheepishly. "I had hoped you'd bring something for our friend to drink and eat, if he is interested," Elm said and looked questioningly at Vartio, Mimi's face soured. "But you are quite good with technology and Vartio here as some unusual unexplainable problems with his pokeballs, so perhaps you had some ideas for how to solve it, if you join me in hearing his story and what lead up to their locking?" He suggested and Mimi looked intrigued. "Gladly! But first, do you need something to clear your throat before you explain what the problem is?" She asked and would dash out the door yelling they had to wait for her before started, if Vartio said yes.
Soon they'd both be sitting with expectantly expressions as they looked at Vartio, ready to hear what he could tell them. A green head peeked around the door opening to glance curiously at Vartio.
(ooc: 400 words added to each egg)
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Post by vartio on Mar 5, 2022 11:56:54 GMT 11
The Warmth in Elm's voice told Vartio all he needed to know. This man truly cared about his Pokemon, and others. He remembered the corsola, his eyes closing for a moment as he listened to Elm's words about trying to help. With a soft opening gaze, he softly ran the ball in his hand and then proceeded to hand it over towards Elm.
Elm would quickly find there was some slight differences in texture, not in forms of scratches or dents, but the bottom half, the non-apricorn half, was made of a seperate material than that world's pokeballs. While similar materials, the texture of the half normally made with an Apricorn seemed to be entirely different. Entirely artificial pokeballs using no organic materials, yet effectively the same bar a lack of a shrinking function button or recall function, meaning balls were lugged and not automatically transported back to a PC. The device was currently dormant, and hence even if it did have those functions, it wouldn't work. Finally of note, there was a note on the bottom. A copyright to one Cobalt company.
The balls on his hip included Great and Ultra Balls, fitting in pairs of two other than the one in Elm's hand, a standard Pokeball itself. This showed to some degree how much he had, whether in experience or money, mayhaps both. The attention then turned to the device he held."Ah this...?" Vartio finally turned it to show it. "It's called a Holocaster. The thing worked as a Pokedex, a Map, Video Phone, ID, and a few other functions. Honestly was hoping to get it to call up the map, or even just my ID, but seems that whatever happened might have damaged it in some capacity."Vartio's right hand scratched away shortly as he let out a sigh of agitation. He had to do something to cover this. However about this time, the assistent they had called forth arrived. He listened to their chatter about him being a new trainer. Not exactly a wrong statement, but not entirely in the right either. Least in this world. He let out a slight smile towards the woman and nodded in greeting, choosing not to reply with word for the time being."A simple water will do for now." He replied to Elm's request, waiting for the water. Once she returned with it, he was more than willing and able to drink it in a rather continuous series of gulps before letting the glass rest on the table. He let out a fulfilled sound before, lightly pulling his lips in, running his tongue over them lightly before releasing them, his eyes traveling from bottom left to bottom right."Right, well let's start from where I'm from. In my world, I come from a country called Godai. The country consists of four regions around what we refer to as 'Victory Road', a tunnel network that leads to the central seat of the government where the Pokemon League is. After it was discovered Apricorns could be used to contain and control pokemon, it lead to decades of wars and conflicts between the four provinces. Eventually, two hundred years ago, the provinces came together under the Queen of the time, becoming the Godai I know of. Godai itself had a few bits of social unrest, before they introduced the first version of the United Nijuu - eight town leaders - later known as Gym Leaders, Five Authorities on Pokemon, and the Queen herself. This became the ruling body of the nation.
While people had begun to learn of Candorous materials and how they work over multiple centuries of tinkering with Apricorns, they also learned how to produce artificial apricorn balls, the first generation 'Pokeballs'. Those who could effectively create more efficient capturing tools out of apricorns were already rare, and the invention of our world's first generation Pokeballs lead to a revolution in trainer adoption rates, especially as compared to a normal apricorn the rate they could contain a Pokemon was drastically higher. More people could catch and train Pokemon, which meant that there had to be a small change in the structure of the country.
So, the Nijuu became the basis of the current Gym system and Trainer Initiative System. The country would provide one pokemon from an extensive list of roughly 150 different choices, if I remember the catalogue, and in exchange trainers were expected to be sort of field researchers. And they'd spurn the trainers to challenge the city leaders - later Gym Leaders - as a form of test to see how the citizens progresscountrywide was doing. Those who completed this were given badges..."Vartio released the Holocaster, and let it rest against his chest as he ruffled through his jacket again, pulling out a small rectangular case, opening it to reveal eight imprinted slots, one of which was filled with a badge with multiple footprint icons in red, yellow, green, and blue diamonds."Which eventually became representative of skill and knowledge instead of knowledge about pokemon and battling, badges of honor and respect for the common citizen as having even one wasn't something anyone could do.Closing the latch, he stowed it back into his haori."Now this is a big buildup to what happened to me. I had gone to Djenganti Monastery, a building in the North of Godai, in search of Riolu for my research and team. The place had a section they limited behind owning a Gym badge as it was especially dangerous. People easily die in the wilds if unprepared, afterall, regardless how strong Pokemon are. I was there as an 'Aura Researcher', trying to find new uses and facts about Aura, its relation with Pokemon, nature, and even us humans, and figured catching one was a good track to researching Aura. When I was there, something attacked me. I couldn't make out a detail about it. Whatever it was, the dust in the area hung like a thick mist, making it nigh impossible to see. It spoke in some weird sounds, alien to anything I've heard before. And then..."Vartio flinched suddenly, holding his head with his left hand. Just recalling all of the sensations seemed to overload his mind, causing him to yell out in pain. He hissed out as he used his right hand, pressing down like his head wanted to explode. With breaths becoming ragged, he seemed to struggle just to breathe, much less speak out three words:"Webs of Light"=== OOC: 1080 words.
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Tarlar
Cap Queen
Posts: 28,609
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Post by Tarlar on Mar 7, 2022 9:04:43 GMT 11
"Sounds like Pokégear or Pokétch," Elm said helpfully, "I think there are more versions even, across the regions. It's a popular tech to make for the companies, I think there is quite a bit competition about making the most popular one. I'm sure some tech knowledgeable could help you solve the problem with it, they might want the right to research your version and get inspired by it as a part of the payment for doing so," he warned, having no idea if Vartio would be willing to share such knowledge.
Professor Elm and Mimi was quiet after Vartio finished his story. Elm scratched his chin a bit while Mimi stared thoughtful at nothing. Elm stood up abruptly and went over and grabbed a pen and paper, "I need to write this down, it could be invaluable knowledge," he said to himself and Mimi fidgeted a bit uncomfortably as the professor got caught up in his work and left her to deal with Vartio on her own. She cleared her throat, "That.. sounds pretty amazing, and yet so familiar. Of course this is an entirely different Region and with a entirely different story, but your Godai could almost be another Region in this world. Johto's story starts as far back as 1500 years ago, where Ruins of Alph were, well build and not ruins. They say its the place of our written language and it should be closely tied with unowns. Ecruteak is known for its towers which are build in honor of Lugia and Ho-oh! They are several hundred years old too, and not ruins! Or one of them aren't, the others burned down. As for similarities we too have Gym Leaders and trainers travel around to collect badges, but I don't think the gym leaders has been a part of a ruling class at some point. It's very different how gym leaders get their position here, as it depends on the gym, but they all have to follow the rules set up for the League. The ones with eight badges can challenge the Elite Four and if they wins they can challenge the Champion and try get that titel for themselves if they want. The Champion is the strongest trainer and it of course comes with a lot of responsibility, right now it's Lance and I doubt anyone will beat him anytime soon!" Mimi rambled her explanations off her.
Elm mumbled something to himself and scribbled something more down before he stood up with the paper in hand studying what he had written. "I don't know much about what happened, but since an Ultra Wormhole opened here and the experts in that matter have linked your to that, I'd think its safe to say you got sucked in by one and ended up here," Elm said, and might interrupt anything Vartio or Mimi was saying as he hadn't followed along. "It might have been a pokemon sending you in there, there should be something called Ultra Beasts which too travel through the wormholes, or perhaps you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. It is strange though, that you ended here as wormholes are a very rare occurrence, they are much more likely to open in the Alola Region," he said thoughtful.
The professor turned to look at Vartio with a worried frown. "You are of course welcome to stay here as long as you wish, but I'm afraid I cannot help you much with your problems," he admitted, "but I have some suggestions which might can be useful for you. If you want to learn more about the wormholes and your chances of getting back, I'd suggest you go back to where you arrived. Veronica is the expert on that matter around here, and I know she'd love to talk to you. Regarding your.." Elm waved his hand in the air as he searched for the word, "electronic map, I think you should find someone with a tech repair shop in Violet or perhaps Goldenrod, that would be easier than to try get through to the bigger companies," Elm said and Mimi cleared her throat rather aggressively and he quickly added, "or let Mimi have a look to see if she can solve at least some of it." Elm paused and looked thoughtful at Vartio's pokeballs, "as for your pokemon and their not working pokeballs, I would like to try if we can get them to connect with our box system, perhaps it can correct the error in them as I know that have solved problems with our pokeballs in the past. And if it doesn't work I am sure Kurt in Azalea Town can help you, he is an expert in Pokeballs and especially ones made from apricorns, which I can see yours are partly."
Elm dropped the paper he had filled carelessly on the table, and Mimi quickly got up and went over to save it from disappearing among all the rest. Elm didn't notice. "I don't know what you prefer but I think it sounds like that you'd need to travel our Johto Region to get the help you are looking for, and with your pokeballs not working and being so new to it all I think its safe to say we can call you a new trainer here. And since we can categorize you as that, I can give you a pokemon to start with and some items to help you along the way," Elm said and beamed. "Saur!" An excited gasp was heard at the door and Mimi spun around to stare sternly at the bulbasaur who had been listening in, it widened its eyes and quickly disappeared out of sight behind the doorframe. "I'm sorry, its really energetic that one," Mimi apologized and a green head carefully peeked around the door at Vartio. "If you want to go traveling, you can look for Aura here too, they are usually linked to riolu's and lucarios, but there are humans who has connection with it as well," Elm informed and looked hopefully at Vartio, "so what do you think?"
(ooc: 400 words added to each egg)
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Post by vartio on Mar 8, 2022 16:17:42 GMT 11
After recovering from his headache following another cup of water, he sat down, leaning back slightly in the chair as he ran his mind through his knowledge.
"Pokegear and Poketch? Those sound familiar... I think the Poketch was in service quite a while ago but phased out in favor of the XTransciever (pronounced: Cross Transciever) generation of portable devices. XTranscievers looked like electric watches, but with phone capabilities, more portable but less flexible and powerful than a Holocaster. Don't know if those sound familiar. After the XTranscievers were phased out again, it basically reverted full time to electric watches with the XTranscievers being luxury items for those who didn't like the Holocasters bulky nature. But that seems to give an idea where the communications technology of this region is compared to Godai it seems."
A deep breath followed, a few sounds of thought and contemplation as his right eye twitched. His fingers lightly tapped his right bicep like he was playing an instrument or typing.
"As for sharing the technology, there's two possibilities. Either I share the technology..." His left hand raised as he opened his eyes, palm to the air. "Or I keep it to myself." His right hand moved the same way, his arms now slightly moving up and down as though scales.
"And therein is the issue. I have knowledge. And by this point I've spread names and ideas that could already have an effect on the world, although how much is something we may never know. Just the idea of it could be whispered, or a certain document can be seen in passing, leading towards someone adopting the idea and inventing things Godai have found or invested in. On the other hand, it just as easily could not."
He clapped his hands together, his fingers clasping together. "What is undeniable, is that at this point, I am in this world. And I have the knowledge. There's a question if I will ever see Godai again. I need to plan for both ultimate possibilities of can or cannot return. Thus begins a plot that's almost too storylike. I must choose whether to withhold it altogether, to spread it, or to try to repair and recreate only for myself. I need to weigh and gauge the worth of each of these actions, and how it may affect the world."
Vartio sighed as he released his hands, his head dipping. Pressure from all ends. As a 'Faller', as a human being, as a trainer, and as someone with knowledge.
"As a researcher, what is the point of knowledge but to spread it, however? We learn to fulfill our own curiosity and then give back to others, so as all can benefit. While this is not my invention, this world could use any benefits it can receive. So, I will lend my knowledge, technology, and aide where I can."
Mimi then gave her speech about the history of the region, his arms crossing as he bowed his head, eyes closed as he listened, trying to envision the info he was being issued.
"Mmm... I don't know about a Lugia or Ho-Oh as far as 'Legendary' Pokemon. Godai knows of Mew and Arceus - each being revered as a deity in their own branch of Harmonism. There are rumors of one named Suicune that regulared around Djenganti Monastery - the place I 'fell' from. There was a similarly revered 'deity' named Moltres at the volcano, Mount Quemar, at the south, but I don't think anyone's seen any of these four, if they even existed at all.
As far as other regions, mayhaps pokemon similar to those you named existed in other nations, such as Isda, Beliae, or Mezaoto. It was only rather recently that Isdan pokemon were introduced to Godai, such as the Ash-and-Beige Isdan Rattata. Godai had a mostly isolationist policy, so we didn't get much knowledge of non-local pokemon.
The existance of a League, all the similar pokemon, now I'm becoming curious. I heard someone mention Arceus... is Mew a part of this world? A small pokemon said to be the genetic origin of all Pokemon?"
Without waiting for an answer, Vartio broke into thought again.
"Arceus is likely involved in some manner if one believes in that. While Mew is respected as the genetic template of all pokemon, there's always been some level of debate about Arceus. The odd thing is, Pokemon were historically not always a thing in my world. They evolved out of what we deemed 'common animals' of ages past. While common animal species have become increasingly rare, excluding insects and a few other high-propagation species, so there's those who believe Arceus isn't truly some 'ultimate deity', and instead the ultimate of all Pokemon is Mew - the first species in our world. It was said to evolve from a cat, which kinda is a species that resembles Persian, in a way, but smaller. After Mew came into being, more and more species evolved into Pokemon, eventually replacing the sheer majority of animal species. There's those who believe Mew's presence could have been because of Arceus entering my world, or mayhaps it changed the world to include pokemon, or mayhaps it don't exist at all. The theories are endless. But no Pokemon short of Arceus or Dialga could explain two 'spaces', completely disjointed, sharing species, unless there were other Pokemon capable of cross-dimensional trav... well I suppose that 'Ultra Beast' things... but they had to come from somewhere too..."
The thoughts seemed to compound himself until both his hands were ruffling through his hair as he leaned forwards.
"For love of Suicune I'm an Aura specialist not an expert on Multi-dimensional hijynx. This is way above my comprehension."
Vartio sighed and leaned back in the chair once more. He grabbed the cup and gulped down what was left, before looking at the light on the ceiling. His head was throbbing still trying to register everything going on.
"I'll worry about this stuff later, including whether or not to return home... for now..."
The talk turned towards Ultra Wormholes, and Vartio listened intently. These Wormholes weren't natural to areas outside of this 'Alola' region. But the term wormhole, little as he understood, meant a lot. He understood the concept as a 'straight' path, as such using any old wormhole wouldn't mean a thing. If the one he fell through was available, he could have used that, but he didn't see any such thing as what he first fell through before the Raticate ran into him.
"If that's the case, I'll need to probably visit this Alola someday. That means money, meaning work. And that's going to be an issue in itself. I don't have the regular governmental funding I had just for training like in Godai to cover everyday expenses."
The idea of having to work worried him, having not had an actual working job. Sure, he knew his body was moderately trained thanks to his journeys, but that did not leave him as someone used to labor.
After most of their talks ended, a Bulbasaur walked into the room. Vartio couldn't help but let out a light smile.
"Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokemon. Grass-Poison Type, evolutions of Ivysaur and Venusaur. I'm guessing this little guy's a 'starter' Pokemon? I remember them and a few other species being popular as their presence outside of the Professors were extremely rare, although these little guys leaned on the least popular according to surveys."
Vartio laughed softly as it bopped back behind the door. It reminded him a bit of Susan, but less shy and more scared, of Mimi at least.
"Don't need to scare the little guy."
He then looked towards Elm, hearing him consider Vartio as a new trainer to the area and offer a Pokemon.
"Well, if you insist, I wouldn't mind looking into a Partner for this world. I'll have to start from scratch somewhere. I just hope Hauntaur is doing fine back in Godai."
Vartio has some hope for his Pokemon. His adoptive father/grand-uncle was never one to take things lightly.
"As for your suggestions about my technology and Pokeballs. I will need to go and visit these places, but for now, I suppose there is no harm in trying to get my Pokemon out of the balls. I'm just curious if our devices have any compatibility. Despite the similar shape, your pokeballs seem to be an entirely different type from Godaian Pokeballs."
Vartio offered up the ball containing Susan, which had been resting on the table, and would smile softly, hoping that things would soon change for the better.
This was capped off by the last thing Elm told Vartio, which damn well seemed to light a fire in his eyes.
"Aura Guardians exist in this world?!"
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A few days would pass since Vartio arrived in Johto. His body wouldn't exactly be at its full potential, but he had begun to recover from 'Falling' to this world. Perhaps a too literally, he had figured time and again since arriving. Accompanying Veronica in the area around where he had first appeared, they had been regularly trying to see if there was some sort of reaction between him and the area, if perhaps they could find the wormhole, or his presence would trigger it, anything and everything.
By this point the reality of a new world had totally settled in. He had learned quite a bit about the Geography, and a surface level understanding of the Nation. He had become fascinated by the potentials that laid before him, namely the possibility of starting anew. He had made a few decisions, namely he was going to continue his dreams from Godai in this world, and do what he could to help Johto advance where he could technologically and in terms of general understanding of Pokemon. Although with Pokemon in this world he had never seen, he didn't know where he could add on. And continuing his own Gym challenge wouldn't be a bad experience either.
And of course, that made the hunt for Riolu and Lucario once more his goal. Not only that, but the existance of Aura Guardians had intrigued Vartio, as in his world, they had become figures of myth, and the common belief was they were simply Empaths and early generation Pokemon trainers, before the days of Apricorns, whose actions were conflated with their Pokemon's due to incomplete or lost texts. To meet a real one would be a journey in and of itself.
Bouncing by his side, Cellulose, the same Bulbasaur from the lab, and now Vartio's temporary partner, was playfully leaping for some low hanging plants, trying to catch a meal from nearby shrubbery. To minimal success. Vartio kept a check every now and then, making sure that Cellulose, or Lulo as he sometimes shortened it to, was alright. Thankfully it didn't seem to be too heavy a risktaker. At the least it seemed a little adventerous, as it didn't seem to be relying on its Vine Whips to capture the plants. It made for an interesting scene to say the least.
At this point they had probably run the area over a good three times top to bottom. Vartio has even climbed up the tree that had the broken branches hoping to find something above, to no success.
"I think we've about exhausted all of our potential routes by now, Veronica." Vartio stated as he turned to look at the fellow researcher. He had more than one bandage on his face, from more than a few branches smacking him in the face, but overall he felt like not much had changed since his Godai days except a temporary bit of assistance.
Vartio seemed calmer and more reserved now that he wasn't constantly muttering out his thoughts to every single thing, by now it was clear he was the sort to ponder out his thoughts aloud to help with understanding and coping.
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OOC: 1988 Words
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Tarlar
Cap Queen
Posts: 28,609
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Post by Tarlar on Mar 10, 2022 1:51:07 GMT 11
Mimi listened curiously to how Vartio compared the devices to what he knew of, she didn't know what they were and there weren't really any way she'd get to know it. As he began pondering aloud about what consequences it could have if he shared his knowledge she began to frown. "How could sharing what you know be a problem?" She asked confused before she gave her speech about Johto, "It's not like you are from the future and can change a set path and destroy your present day. This is more if someone from another region came with new knowledge, or if we got visitors from out of space, then we wouldn't think twice about learning about the new technology as fast as possible."She grinned and started her speech about the region they were in. When Vartio began to ponder about the information he had just been given, Mimi nodded for every legendary pokemon he mentioned, except the potential different colored rattata, to which she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head a bit. She opened her mouth to answer Vartio's question but didn't get to as he continued, she tried a few more times but Vartio was far from out of breath and she took a very pointedly waiting position as she waited for him, her chin resting in her hand. She got her chance when he gulped down some water. "I don't know what you are trying to decide, you are taking about stuff of legend and things which are still researched!" Mimi said with a laugh, "But legends do often have some sort of truth to them, the question is just how much."Professor Elm beamed when Vartio mentioned having to find a way to earn some money to live by, "I might have an offer which can help you then, and you can help me!" He said eagerly. "I'm always in the need of trainers to do the field research with a Pokedex. You just need to register and capture pokemon as your travel around and update me with what you find once in a while! I too would love to know, if the reported sightings around Burned Tower of the legendary dogs is true. The legend says that three pokemon died in the fires which burned down the towner, but Ho-oh appeared and revived them into Suicune, Entei and Raikou.""If you think that is too much work, most cities has jobboards with small odd jobs which others can take," Mimi informed. Vartio was confirmed in his speculations about Bulbasaur, who was quick to return after Mimi had scolded her at first. "I'm not, she knows she's not supposed to be in this area, they can mess up the research, I think she is more than ready to go with a trainer," Mimi said dryly and glanced at Vartio as the grass type clearly had taken a liking to Vartio and had once again fully entered the room, looking hopefully at him. "They do," Elm confirmed, "they are just not so well known and some believes they are legends and fairytales. I know of at least one who is helping me with my research too, but I do not know if he wish to meet you."
Mimi's attempts to get Vartio's pokeballs to talk with the box system had been fruitless. It seemed like whatever energy had locked them, was also interfering with the system. Mimi was very frustrated as she said anything seemed to work, they were similar enough for it to work, they should be able to connect, she could see it they almost did, the last little connection they just refused to make. Veronica's face fell in disappointment as she tried to swallow the bitter defeat. "I'm sorry," she said as her shoulders fell, she looked at Vartio with pity. She had been thrilled when they have reached out to her and with all what Vartio could tell her, it was invaluable knowledge to whenever they managed to open and explore those mysterious wormholes. After learning his story she had become determined to try find a way to help Vartio get back to his own world, his friends and family but they had not succeeded. She tapped the scanner in her hand. "No reaction at all, and it hasn't been since you arrived," she said unnecessary and frustration sneaked into her tone. "Some of them just closes really fast for some reason," she added slowly and tilted her head back to look at the clear blue sky, she got a determined expression. "You know what? I will not give up on this, I will contact the researchers in Alola and see what we can figure something out. They have always had quite a lot opening over there, we just need to make darn sure we don't send you into a wrong one!"Veronica paused as some grass nearby rustled, "are we getting visitors now?" She mumbled as she tensed. A little purple snout poked out of the tall grass and sniffed the air, its red eyes eyed them warily as it slowly stepped out into the open. It scanned the area, its fur bristled and its ears twitched. It took several more tense steps forward, and something lead it towards Vartio, it clattered its teeth agitated as it got closer and looked to be really uncomfortable. "What's getting into it?" Veronica whispered, "careful, I think it can attack at any wrong movement! This is not how rattata's usually act, I wonder if it can feel you are different? But why would it bother it? No other pokemon has seemed affected by you," Veronica mused quietly. While she talked the rattata froze in place, its eyes had snapped to Vartio's pokeballs. It's tail twitched and its whisker's stirred, showing how uncomfortable it was, although it seemed confused and uncertain in the same time. Rattata [Lv 5] is approaching warily, it seems bothered by something but doesn't know what. Congratulations! Susan "hatched", please fill out the code below:[img src="https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/bw/rattata.png"] [b]Rattata[/b] Name: [choose] Gender: [choose] Level: 1 OT: Vartio Artel Attacks: Tackle, Tail Whip, Screech[sup]EM[/sup], Bite[sup]EM[/sup] Ability: Run Away or Guts Nature/Personality: [choose] Shiny Hatch: 3h|dz0Ww1-42(400 words added to each egg. Not shiny rolling for the encountered rattata, since its non capturable due to be spawn on agreement.) 1-42
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