preybeforemeals | 002. [Video/Action for Goldenrod City]

002. [Video/Action for Goldenrod City]

[Well, it seems that Tsukiyama has finally left whatever hellhole he's buried himself in for the last couple of weeks; he hasn't been out nearly as much as he'd normally like – really, he hasn't been out at all unless it's been absolutely necessary – but it seems that today he's decided that if he's going to bury himself in several layers of escapist fantasy, he might as well do it outside rather than behind the locked doors of a hotel room.

...That, and he's run out of reading material.

The feed from Tsukiyama's device today opens with a slow pan over some of what he's managed to find in his attempt to stave off boredom; after a moment, his voice can be heard over the video.]

I'm finding myself a bit at a loss, really – if nothing else, I'm unsure whether I should be impressed or offended.

[To his credit, he sounds more amused than anything; after a moment he turns the camera around to actually get him in the shot. He seems well enough, if a bit exasperated.]

They seem to have things such as The Metamorphosis and Battle Royale as well, things that don't seem to have changed much just judging by the title, but I'm sure there's some sort of completely hideous difference in there that will make itself known eventually. For now I think I'm just grateful that I haven't found anything like The Black Gogoat's Egg...I'm sure it would be by someone like Takatsuki Sentret, while we're at it.

[Because this place is a travesty like that.]

From what I've seen, the film selection isn't much better... Tell me if you've found anything particularly interesting during your time here, will you? I don't particularly mind if it's a pun-entrenched mess; if anything, I'm a little curious about how badly they've managed to butcher things.

[Granted, he's not entirely sure how this is going to go, given that there's apparently a market for things like Sharpedonado around here and as such he is effectively asking for recommendations from people who find things like that to be high art, but you know what, live a little.]

[ACTION]

[It's a little overcast today but it's not too cold, and as such he can be found sitting in one of the squares near the department store; there's a café nearby that he's come to like, even if it's not Anteiku (because nothing is quite like Anteiku, even if he'd never really frequented the place as much as some it had its charms, he can't deny that), and he's claimed one of the outdoor tables with a book laid nearby and a cup of something that steams in front of him. As usual, he's a little hard to miss – which is really just a polite way of saying that he's still something of an eyesore, but at least it looks like there was an attempt today and the entire ensemble is blessedly argyle-free.

He's not reading the book he's got laid out, though once in a while he looks at it in a way that implies he's tempted to at least see how much of a shitshow it's surely going to be; for now, his time seems to be given to actually taking the time to savor the joy that is pumpkin-spice everything while it lasts (as long as we all take the word "joy" to mean "experience that involves drinking that coffee once in a while like he's not sure if it's poison, only to set it down and look at it funny and be clearly unsure in its general direction...but for some reason he can't stop drinking it once in a while anyway") and...once in a while swatting away a really persistent Klefki that is hovering near his head.

She doesn't seem to mind the swatting; if anything, she's seeming to find it to be a game of some sort, and she keeps coming back and...unlatching, for lack of a better word, for the sake of waving one of the keys she's found in his general direction with the happiest damn noise because NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

SHE FOUND A PRETTY ONE AREN'T YOU PROUD OF HER.

...After a while the implications of that will sink in, however, and...]

...Mirabella...

[Surely she hasn't.]

Mirabella, amore – exactly where have you been getting those...?

[If he has gotten some sort of kleptomaniac keyring he swears to god - ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Oh, well, that's...

This place is such a mess, it's admirable.]

Well, now I'm curious - did they manage to leave the plots of these games largely intact, despite the titles?

That much remains to be seen. I haven't played those titles for myself yet, but I'm sure morbid curiosity will bring me to it eventually. The Legend of Zorua I'm particularly interested in.

[He's going to have to have a talk with someone if Zelda turns up as a shape-shifting fox, honestly.]

There also exist games that seem mostly unchanged, like Tetris and Galaga. Though those you can only change so much, simple as they are.

Somehow I'm not surprised that they have Tetris. It's the sort of simple time-wasting activity that people seem to love regardless of where they're from.

Some things inspire that sort of curiosity here, it's true - I have a copy of The Metamorphosis with me right now simply because I can't imagine what they would have changed short of turning Gregor Samsa into some sort of Pokémon, and since they're held in such high regard here I wonder how they're going to make this out to be a bad thing.

If I had to wager a guess, they may see fit to turn him into something like a Heracross. Or Venipede, perhaps, but either one would be a stretch, considering the fact that bugs the size of humans aren't exactly seen as uncommon here.

That's what I was suspecting - if they're going to keep it consistent with the original, it would likely be a...Scolipede, I believe it is? The final evolution in that chain; I don't recall what it's called but that sounds right.

I'm still learning the newer Pokemon but yes, that sounds right.

It would be apt, considering the pokedex entry mentions that that Pokemon is highly aggressive, and 'clasps its prey with the claws on its neck until it stops moving. Then it finishes it off with deadly poison.'

Not quite a creature you would want to encounter unprepared.

Since you've been discussing video games with me, I'm assuming you were familiar with some of the earlier Pokémon? I've met a few in that situation.

Yes. I knew all that existed in the games I played back home- the first 151 listed in the Pokedex. All of the rest I've had to learn. Those games were Blue, Red, and Yellow, none of which had anything beyond Mew, much less dark types, steel types, or....the recently discovered fairy type, apparently.

[...goodness, um.]

Interesting. I definitely recall them being more or less everywhere in Tokyo a while back, though I never played the games myself.

So in other words, before coming here I could identify Pikachu immediately, everything that happened to be pink was collectively a Jigglypuff, and Mewtwo was presumably powerful. Everything else was a bit beyond me.

Pokemon became very popular in a short amount of time, so I'm not surprised you knew that much from observation alone.

[And good Lord did everyone want a Pikachu, him included.]

It was a bit out of my age bracket otherwise, so observation is all I had to base it on.

It's almost a relief to hear some people here realize that this is all just a game, at its core.

Most don't seem to know what to make of this place.

[Not that he does, either, but it's easier to pretend that he's just having some sort of elaborate dream about a real Pokemon adventure because honestly that sounds pretty great, considering.]

[Ohhhh, if you think you're getting away with that so easily...]

And am I to assume that you do?

Having played it helps. Not everything that this place is is a complete surprise to me, at least.

I'm not implying that this place isn't real, because it surely seems to be, somehow. But it isn't quite a world of fantasy, either. If you took away the Pokemon, what would you have? You would have cities and towns full of people alarmingly similar to those back home.

[So, basically, Pokemon world is a vast improvement on the real world, then. At least, as far as Nagi is concerned.]

Well, yes and no.

I don't know about where you come from, but my world doesn't drag in two or three people from other dimensions and make them attempt to get along without throttling each other.

Mine doesn't, either, but that's when you just distance yourself from those people and attempt to get on with whatever life you plan on having here.

At risk of sounding trite, distancing yourself from others only gets you so far.

Don't misunderstand me, I've spent most of my life fending for myself. But there's only so much you can do completely on your own in a situation like this; interacting with others is an inevitability and not an option.

You wouldn't be the first person to tell me that.

[Pokemon gods notwithstanding.]

It's easier to avoid a situation where you would need to deal with them at all, however inevitable it may be. It doesn't exactly come easy for me anyway, even in the rare instance that I want to try.

I'm not disagreeing with you. If anything, the fact that you want to try at all puts you in a different category than me already.

[He's not saying it's a good category to be in, but details.]

[For a moment he actually...isn't sure how to respond, because his initial reaction is 'but I don't want to try, I don't care.'

But what did he just say, then?]

It's still as you said. Whether or not you care won't change the fact that it will happen, I just make it a point to do what I can to avoid it entirely. That's all.

That's fair! This place in general has a little too much emphasis on love and friendship to be comfortable anyway, if you ask me.

It is more true to the game I remember that way, really. When your main character is supposed to be only ten years old you can expect for that sort of thing to be pushed a bit more than is realistic. The same goes for the NPCs who are happy to just give you items simply when you talk to them, for example...it was a surprise to discover that that holds true here as well.

[And it certainly is a surreal experience when you're stopped by someone in town and they just shove a berry at you for your time, no questions asked.]

It's certainly helpful, I'll never say that it isn't. At the same time, once one is both beyond the age of ten and used to a place...far more violent than this, let's say, it's a little jarring either way. Difficult to trust it, for one.

[That has Nagi thinking for a moment, and it takes him a bit to think of what he wants to say next.]

Oh, I wouldn't trust anything about it. At least not outright.

[Oh, now that's interesting, isn't it.]

Despite your games? Dare I ask why?

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