2024-01-09: Sometimes, Pokemon Chooses You
- Log: Sometimes, Pokemon Chooses You
- Cast: Xantia, Lily Keil
- Where: Viridian City - Emerald Way
- Date: January 09, 2024
- Summary: Xantia vents her frustrations about the lack of progress in dealing with the Wise Men to Lily, when an unexpected visitor makes it all better... in its own way.
======================<* Viridian City - Emerald Way *>======================= Viridian City is a city of many importances; it is the major commerce and logistics hub within the Emerald Cape province, providing primary access to the western reaches of the Kanto region. It's of no surprise, then, that it sports an expansive and well-developed commercial district, with Market Way providing a wide variety of shops and goods for all walks of life. Lush and adorned with nature, Viridian's residents enjoy a spacious and relaxed environment, with most living in medium-density apartment blocks three to four stories high. The market is most recently memorably featured in the hit single by sensational Nedean-pop band 2BA, "I'm on the Road to Viridian City." BGM: Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee & Pikachu! - Pewter City - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGrGjO5F6ZM
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
There's probably a lot of things that those who traveled from Aveh to Ignas weren't expecting to find on the other side, and one of those things was almost certainly Xantia. Rather than travel too far out, she had the presence of mind to figure a tear in reality would surely cause people to come investigate sooner rather than later. And that given the armed forces in the area, it would be reasonable to assume a certain type of people. Rather than running the risk of missing them, she kept an eye out, and thus was not surprised at all to find members of the Black Wolves and a few other familiar faces among them, happily greeting them as if there'd been no reason at all to be concerned about what had occurred on Marduk.
It was an easy way to be brought up to speed reasonably well regarding the battle with the Wise Men, the surprise appearances that followed, the new world they'd found themselves in, and of course the urgency for action that Xantia highlighted in particular, with Filgaia once again being drained of the life energy that is already in short supply. When it was decided the best course of action would be travel back to Energy Nede, she was of course totally on board. Go to where the bad guys are, and start working on the plan to take them down, that made total sense.
She has... not been pleased with how that's been going. Open book as she typically is, it's easy enough to tell just by looking at her face. The underlying emotions that can be sensed are mostly anxiety and frustration. This should be no surprise - Xantia much prefers action to preparing for action. Given what's being done to Filgaia and how strongly she feels about safeguarding it, her impatience to Do Something About This has risen to extreme heights.
It should not be a big surprise that, when Xantia is found seated on a bench looking out over the small lake in Viridian City, she is not at all relaxed. Constantly fidgeting and tapping her foot, welcoming any excuse for action, while not knowing of any that she's interested in taking. Hyper-alert, as well, because she speaks to Lily once approached, without even turning to look to her fellow Black Wolf.
"So how's the place been treating you?"
There's something... judgmental, in those words. She knows at least some of what Lily's been up to here. And she doesn't like it.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily Keil wasn't expecting most of what she found, frankly--but one thing she did expect, and that's Xantia to be alive at the end of the path. ...Later, finding that Xantia is frustrated with preparation instead of acting, well...
Also not surprising.
Lily approaches Xantia, and she notices her alertness. The Black Wolf is dressed in the same suit she'd been wearing on the trip, black and reasonably good. She needs to find some proper clothes sooner than later--that is, not from a vending machine--but she has other priorities... like checking in with Xantia.
"Fine enough," Lily answers. "Seeing the spatial warp up close has given me some ideas that might be useful."
She has a few Poke Balls on her belt. And that judging tone means that Lily steps the rest of the way around, and looks at Xantia.
"And these 'Pokemon' have some fascinating capabilities. We might be able to learn something very useful from them, too." A pause. "...It seems like we're all treating this world as something of a theme park, doesn't it? That after all our urgency, the Ten Wise Men are farther away from us now than ever."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia, of course, hasn't cared to change her outfit. She never does, always insisting to be optimally prepared for combat. Strangely enough, people generally haven't found it as weird as one might expect, at least not for that reason. It was sooner her ears that made people wonder why she was dressed as if she were part of the League. Flashy clothing appears to be one way that high-ranked trainers like to distinguish themselves.
While refraining from intentional rudeness, she hasn't exactly taken pains to get too friendly with the locals, however. She just... doesn't get this world. And she's not interested in learning about it. She has different priorities. ...It feels as if she's the only one. Even Lily...
As such, Xantia doesn't look interested in the slightest at the prospect of learning things from Pokemon. But after that pause... that's when her head fully turns to face Lily, slowly widening eyes displaying that the nail was hit on the head.
"...So you do see it. I was starting to think... well. Can I just... tell you what I was thinking?"
The way she basically asks 'permission to speak freely' shows that she's worried those words might cause hurt feelings. But she also recognizes that there are times when you simply have to just... let out the way you feel. To keep from bottling it up, and having it keep bothering you forever. This is definitely one of those times.
Xantia rises from her seated position, and steps closer to the water, hands behind her back. "...A theme park is a good description. It all feels so artificial here. So fake. This whole Pokemon training thing is like... as if they had to invent something to keep busy, because things would be too boring otherwise. Is that what a peaceful world is like...?"
A world in which she has no place, is perhaps the unspoken conclusion. But she's working up to that, turning about to face Lily with emphatic handgestures accompanying her next words. "You gotta understand - I've been here, I've seen people taking to all this, and it was just... I don't get it, what's wrong with everybody? It was like... it felt like there's something in the air only I am immune to, or something. Something that makes people want to go out and collect monsters instead of concerning themselves with more important things. I mean sure, I understand why the people who live here do it. Different culture, they've been doing it since forever, that's fine. But it took no time at all for everybody visiting to get into it, too. And for what? What's the point, why are we wasting time on this while Filgaia is dying, even more quickly than it was already?"
She pauses, sighing deeply, deflating after finally getting to let all of that out. Her head is lowered when she draws what is perhaps the obvious conclusion, one that she's frequently arrived at. "...It's just me again, isn't it? I'm the weird one, the one who feels differently than anyone else. Differently than normal."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"You can," Lily says. Sometimes you have to let it out. Sometimes it's better just to say it, even if it might be hurtful. Lily prefers it that way anyway.
"I don't think a peaceful world is necessarily like this," Lily says. But her expression turns wry, at the matter of what's 'wrong' with everybody.
"I get it," Lily says. "It's strange. ...No, I don't think it's just you--or rather... I think it's more complicated than that."
"We're in a holding pattern. Apparently there's these training fields we can use, but they aren't ready for us yet. We can't beat the Ten Wise Men as we are. ...So we need new sources of power, new capabilities, new... something. But I don't think that's why most of us are doing this."
"It's tempting," she says. "To go from our dying world to this curated one, and to enjoy what it has to offer. There are people talking about bringing some technology back."
"I don't really know why everyone else is doing it. I suppose I'm just... meandering, on my thoughts, too."
"You've never had much patience when it comes to dangers to Filgaia. ...And I think that's good in this case. We need something to keep us on track. I know that's my intention, anyway--to use these Pokemon to grow stronger. That's the point. But maybe after all the death and danger, some of these people just need a release."
Lily turns to the water, too. "...I don't think a peaceful world is necessarily this. But it is what this one is."
"...Once I've scouted the region more, I intend to return to the spatial warp, and check the one to Lunar, too. I doubt I can close it, but if I can understand it better, we might make some progress. I could use your help with that."
"You are different, Xantia. That's true. We can't deny it. But so am I. We all are, the Wolves."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia listens, ostensibly calm now. But those emotions are still there, roiling beneath the surface. It upsets her, to consider that achieving what she's trying to achieve would mean that all she has to have to look forward to is feeling like... well, this. Unable to relax, begging for some call to action so she can do something to give her life meaning again. "...I hope you're right," is all she can say, in regards to a peaceful world possibly being somehow different.
Waiting. It all comes down to waiting. The thing that Xantia is the worst at. Shades of that time when she was forced to take a vacation and had no idea how, acknowledging her inability to just rest or commit to a hobby. She's also not good at learning things that are completely new to her. That only seems to go well when she was ultimately just re-learning things she'd once already known. It's most keenly felt at times like this. Why is she like this...?
Anger flares up again too, at the thought of 'enjoying what this world has to be offer'. A sense of betrayal, to Filgaia. Her head sharply raises, that anger clearly visible in her eyes. "I've thought that too - that this world is a trap. To get people to forget about what they need to do, and just... have fun. How could anybody have fun at a time like this?!" Not much patience is an understatement. It borders her sense of what constitutes an enemy of Filgaia. Considering how she actually fell ill when she willfully ignored a plight to Filgaia... this really does hit her very differently.
Xantia cannot sense how Lily feels, in turn. But the way it seems, as Lily speaks... "...You're so calm about all this. I can't understand it. I just want to, to..." A sweep of her arm accompanies a sudden emotional surge. "To just go up to people and yell in their faces! Grab them by the collar and shake them, remind them of what's happening to Filgaia - what's been happening! Even if we can't act directly there's got to be something else we can do other than just-- whatever everyone else is doing it for, I don't even care about the reasons, we just have to--"
Something very strange happens, at that moment. Lily can sense it before anything else. There is a sudden, gradual change in Xantia's emotions, in a way that feels unnatural. It's as if the negativity is... flowing out of her. No, it's actively being drawn elsewhere. For a very short moment, it's as if there's some manner of psychic tether between Xantia and... a pair of ominous eyes, glowing red, obscured within the shadows of some nearby bushes.
The effect on Xantia is striking. Her agitation is entirely gone, replaced by a calm she hasn't experienced for a very long time. Xantia herself realizes something strange is going on, confusion in her eyes as she blinks blankly.
"...What was I talking about? I'm not... sure why I was so angry, just now..."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...It doesn't feel like just 'peace'. It feels like something different."
Xantia is angry--and Lily watches her. A trap... "But who would set such a trap?" Lily presses.
But calm? Lily is calm about most things. Not all, of course--but most. She listens, ans Xantia starts to rant, and then suddenly--suddenly there is something different.
Dog barks wildly, coming out from around the bench and looking to the eyes in the bushes. "Dog," she says. "Keep your eye on whatever that is."
Lily says, "Something just drew the anger out of you," Lily says with a frown. "Those eyes..."
Lily places a hand on one of her Pokeballs. She doesn't throw it yet, though.
"Xantia, are you sure you're all right?"
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Far be it from Xantia to debate the nature of peace, it's just the definition that seemed most appropriate for an environment that feels so fundamentally alien to anything she's used to. Spira was less of a culture shock - at least it had Fiends that she could beat up without getting berated for doing it wrong, somehow. A trap too, is just a feeling that her currently less than rational mind arrived at. "I don't know, maybe the Wise Men!" Get people to stop fighting by giving them something more fun to do... delightfully devilish.
And yet, in spite of all those frustrations... just like that, they seem to have ceased to matter. Xantia left to wonder what she was even upset about... and when she vaguely recalls, unable to understand why it upset her so. Those feelings are just gone. She follows Dog's eyes to the bushes... the presence there quickly fading into them at all the attention. But this isn't a patch of high grass, it would be difficult to escape unseen. Whatever it is, it's still there, trying to hide.
When Lily confirms what's going on... a measure of anger returns to Xantia, but for a different reason, and with a different target. "...They did what? What could do something like that?" She shakes her head. "No, I'm not alright, not if whatever's in there just... stole my feelings from me!" That's one step down from taking her memories - she can't clearly remember the previous topic as it is. There's no quicker way to earn Xantia's ire than that.
Predictably, Xantia marches right over to those bushes, throwing all caution to the wind. "I'll handle it," she preempts Lily's objections. "Though, if something happens... uh, try to do something to make it not happen?" She has no idea what she's getting into here. But nothing's going to stop her from getting into it. With that, she... points an accusing finger, at the bushes.
"Listen, you! You don't just... steal feelings from people like that! So whoever or whatever you are, you better come out! Don't make me come in there to beat you up!"
...Surprisingly, this actually has results. Something floats up from the bushes, vaguely translucent at first, but quickly turning completely visible, levitating in the air. It looks like a piece of dark gray cloth around two feet in lengthy, tightly wrapped around something spherical with a pointed horn. Black rings surround its two large eyes, divided into yellow, dark blue and light blue segments, moving outwards. The ghostly Pokemon cants its head quizzically. Who's that Pokemon? It's...
"Shuppet?"
Xantia just kind of stares at it for a full five seconds, before turning to Lily. "...Lily what the heck is this, what does it want from me?" As if in answer, the Pokemon comes up behind her, dancing around in the air.
"Shuppet, Shuppet~"
"Stoppit, stoppit!"
Xantia swats at the creature. Her hand goes straight through it, causing her to lose her balance at the unexpected lack of impact. The Pokemon appears to giggle in its Shuppet-dialect at Xantia's awkward motions to prevent her fall. "Wh-what the... I can't touch it?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"I don't think that's the case."
The presence fades, but Lily frowns further. Xantia gets angry again, of course--why not? But, "I don't know. I haven't seen anything like that..."
Lily does object, of course. "Hey," she says, "Just... be careful." She lowers her hand from her Pokeball. "Right. I'll..." She considers. "I won't blast it," she decides, "But I have one of these little guys who can take care of it."
Results! Lily watches the creature there. A ghostly Pokemon...
Yes, that must be it.
"I don't know," Lily says. "But maybe it's a kind of Pokemon?"
She tilts her head, looking at it. "Fascinating. Completely intangible..."
"I think it likes you. Not sure what to do about that, though. Do you want me to give you a Pokeball and see if you can catch it? That would get it out of your hair."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Wow. Lily says she won't blast something. Can you blame Xantia for thinking there's something in the air around here?
She, on the other hand, is completely her usual - she would definitely have followed up on that threat to go beat up the whatever-it-is if she needed to. Not that it would have done her much good, but even with violence, sometimes it's the thought that counts.
"...Of course it's a Pokemon," she responds, a sigh present within her voice. "These people mistook Azoth for a Pokemon, of course that's what they'd call this one. Even if it's clearly a ghost!" Someone doesn't know that Ghost is literally one of the defined types...
She does a double-take at Lily, questioning, "It likes me?" Shuppet proceeds to imitate her, floating up next to Xantia with a serious expression, matching her cadence, "Shup Shuppet?" Xantia glowers. "Are you making fun of me?" "Shuppet Shuppet." "Hmph. Could've fooled me."
Xantia fails to question how she somehow understood what the Pokemon was saying, turning back to Lily. "Huh? I don't want to catch it, I want it to go away!" "...Shuppet?" "That's right! Shoo! Shoo!"
Xantia makes shooing motions with her hands, moving them closer until they go straight through the ghost Pokemon, causing her to flinch and back off. That's just creepy. Shuppet, on the other hand... wears a blank expression, seeming to be considering something... And then happily floats back over to Xantia. "Shuppet Shuppet!"
Xantia once again fails to question how clear the meaning of that was communicated to her somehow. "Wh-- no! That's not-- Shoo isn't-- I wasn't giving you a name!" This Pokemon is clearly not easily dissuaded...
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
It's true. But Lily is trying not to freak out the locals too much. That's why she's changed her clothes, for one.
But, "It does seem to be a broad term."
Shuppet imitates Xantia, and then Xantia... understands it pretty clearly. That could be context, of course, but it could be something more. Especially since Xantia keeps going. "I don't think it's going to go away," Lily points out. "That's why I offered."
A pause. "Yeah, now that you've named it, you're definitely not getting rid of it," Lily decides. "Might be a useful ally in any case. Intangible, has some kind of psychic ability..."
"Looks like it can do some things you can't."
"Unless you want to try to destroy it, it looks like you're stuck."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia really should have taken notice of it, but somehow, only when Lily says it does it feel definitive. She... may be stuck with this Pokemon. She hangs her head, defeated. "Why did this happen...?"
Perhaps she'll realize it one day - Shuppet are attracted to negative emotions and absorb them as a food source. And did she ever stick out as a large concentration of those, compared to most people here. She did it to herself, really... and getting angry about it is only going to make this Pokemon like her more.
"But I didn't..." she begins to complain to Lily, but trails off, by now realizing that she's cursed with a Pokemon that only hears what it wants. Deeeep sigh, while the Shuppet - now going by Shoo, apparently - is dancing around her head saying its name over and over.
The Pokemon stops in its tracks right on the word 'destroy'. Its large eyes remain focused on Xantia in a way that... well, pretty much everyone would agree that it looks sad. Xantia grimaces.
"Ugh, I get it, I get it. I know what you're doing, you know." That was directed to Shoo and Lily both. Feels like she's getting teamed up on here, what with Lily pointing out the possible advantages to having a Pokemon with abilities that she doesn't have. She can't argue against that, and she couldn't bring herself to hurt a creature that appears to be genuinely friendly. Still... she points at the Shuppet.
"Fine, you can come, BUT! ...Don't do that thing you did before again. Are we clear?"
"Shuppet!"
Xantia looks dubious, but shakes her head, turning to Lily. "So what do I... do. I don't know how to handle animals... if this even counts as one."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
One day. Lily will be doing some research, so she might realize it sooner. Maybe she can sit down one of those kids with the Pokedexes...
The Shuppet looks sad! Lily suppresses a small laugh. The Pokemon keeps dancing around, and...
"You do," Lily agrees with knowing what they're doing. Lily is enjoying this, for her part. She is still concerned, but...
Xantia seems to be taking care of that.
"Just be firm and consistent with your directives. Animals--and I think that includes Pokemon--respond to what you don't do as much as what you do. But I don't think you'll have a problem there."
"You're honest to a fault." Lily actually almost smiles.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia just... rubs her temples at Lily's words. "Please don't say anything like 'you'll be a talented trainer', I didn't ask for this... I'm not doing any of this because I want to, understand?"
"Shuppet!"
"I wasn't talking to you!" Pause. "Actually you know what, I am talking to you, you better not get in my way or mess me up somehow!"
"Shuppet Shup, Shuppet!"
Shoo twirls cheerfully in the air. Her threatening tone is having completely the opposite effect. Will she really be okay...?