001. video; un: cendre

[holocast]

[The video opens on someone who...well, is rather clearly used to using devices such as these to address people. Cleanly centered and well-grounded, focused easily on the man sitting at the table in what looks like one of the nicer apartments available. Not as upscale as his tastes would like, but sufficient for the time being.

His accent is unmistakably French, and his words are easy when he speaks; another thing he seems practiced at.]

Fellow Moonblessed – hopefully this message finds you well, despite all the chaos currently occurring throughout Lunatia. I am Lysandre, a recent arrival from the Kalos region of the world I'm from; more to the point, I'm a scientist and inventor. I specialize in communications technology, mainly, but with regards to other disciplines... Let's say I learn quickly.

The level of technology here is slightly beyond my own world's, but I've been acquainting myself with it since my arrival; I'm interested in speaking to those who have been doing similarly.

I'm also a Pokémon trainer, though I understand that's a bit more uncommon in this place – Pokémon are our dearest companions, and as such something has struck me as odd about the creatures populating this place. Some of them seem intelligent, but the others...

[He gestures a little, vaguely, both to imply the all of that that he finds the others to be, as well as to serve as a placeholder while he figures out what he wants to say.]

They seem a little simple, and strange behind the eyes. Are all of them like that?

[...Lysandre.]

Either way... Thank you for your time, and remain well.

Comments

un: clearwater2000

[nojohnyouare]

[Video coming in from... under a park bridge? Okay.]

Animals... Yes. Usually. Are yours smart.

video, un: tigerpoet

[tigerpoet]

Some animals are more intelligent than others, but all of them are simple compared to humans, yes. A few species have been domesticated, but the vast majority of them are not.

[holocast]

Pokémon are... Yes, incredibly so. Some are claimed to be so far above human intelligence that it defies comprehension, though how accurate that is is a little questionable.

[The Pokédex is a thing, and so are Alakazams.]

Yours are similar to the ones here, then?

[holocast]

That's... Forgive me for saying so, but that's deeply distressing.

[...Lysandre.]

What do you do for companionship where you're from, then?

[nojohnyouare]

Mm. But not the same. No dragon-san or giant bug-san. ...Probably.

[tigerpoet]

Other humans, usually?

[holocast]

"Probably"...?

[...The notion of "giant bugs" is a little weird, the bugs most people find huge around here are just kind of bugs as far as he's concerned?]

[holocast]

Well, yes, we do that as well. But the bond is entirely different between Pokémon and humans, compared to what it is between humans and one another.

[tigerpoet]

People do keep small cats and dogs as pets, but it's not really a relationship of equals...

[holocast]

[...Hm.]

I know some people keep their Pokémon as pets as well - they don't battle with them, they just keep them close. Which is a fair way to do things, battling isn't for everyone. It's been some time since I've done it extensively.

[So there's...that...?]

What is it like, then, if it isn't a matter of equals? Are they simply kept and cared for...?

[tigerpoet]

They're kept and taken care of, fed and all that, and there is affection on both sides... But the amount of communication that's possible between a human and their pets is limited.

[holocast]

...If that's what they're capable of and what their level of understanding will allow, it's at least a good life, I suppose.

[tigerpoet]

I can't imagine how surreal this must be to you.

[holocast]

Greatly so. Though I suppose in the end it's no stranger than anything else we have to deal with here; I find it more lonely than anything. I almost can't imagine being without my Pokémon for an extended period of time, much less never having had them in the first place.

[nojohnyouare]

Unless they exist secretly.

[tigerpoet]

You can buy items from the Ware Wolf Shop that will let you summon your Pokemon from home, if that helps.

[holocast]

...I suppose that's fair. Even where I'm from, dragons tend to be on the rarer side; I see no reason why they couldn't exist secretly elsewhere.

[holocast]

Is that so...? Most of them were with me when I arrived; there's just one that wasn't. I'm not sure why that is, but I appreciate the help in getting him back.

[tigerpoet]

I'm not sure why that would be either. I know people seem to come here with a limited number of possessions...

[holocast]

That might be it, then. I'm hesitant to call my Pokémon possessions, but apparently my definition and theirs aren't the same.

un: tarrlok | video

[bloodisthicker]

[...oh, that’s kind of fun. Tarrlok seems kind of amused by this whole thing...]

Honestly, I think Pokemon are the ones that are a little out of the ordinary. We have animals that are about as intelligent as them back home, but we have just as many that aren’t, as well.

...

Then again, you have some Pokémon that don’t look anything like animals, so that’s the part I think is strange.

[holocast]

[Animals are weird, Tarrlok, he's literally never dealt with anything like them and they are giving him a serious case of The Wig.]

That's because they aren't animals, at least as far as I understand what animals are.

[...Why are they all so dead inside...]

They're an entirely different form of life, with their own ways of living and existing. They have just as much right to do so as anything else.

[tigerpoet]

Oh, no, I didn't mean to imply that you would...

[nojohnyouare]

Mm. ...You said they didn't have these machines where you're from?

[holocast]

Don't worry, I know what you meant. It's more of an argument to be had with this particular world's standards, I suppose.