2024-01-15: Approaching Change
- Log: Approaching Change
- Cast: Nina Chiyome, Ethius Hesiod, Sable Aomori, Damian Tamaoka
- Where: Cerulean City, Energy Nede
- Date: January 15, 506 Filgaian
- Summary: A number of days intersect in the middle of Cerulean City, including a ghost-fearing medium, a xenoanthropologist, and two ninja. Absolutely no crimes are committed.
<Pose Tracker> Nina Chiyome has posed.
Nina's had a few reminders that her methods of training pokemon are probably.. dubious. Not that she's a bad trainer, so much as she has a lot of holes in her lineup. This has resulted in the teen (After fleeing one crime scene, into another and then just vacating the area for a bit) wandering the surrounding area looking for a wider swing of pokemon. Which mostly means she's run into zoobats (She did catch one) and a lot of bugs.
She was wearing something hardier than her usual social outfit! Baggy pants, hardy shoes and a traditional looking top, all in grey-blues and wrapped up with a short, brimless hat keeping her hair out of her eyes and a bandana. The kinda stuff that's reminiscent of home. And definitely designed for wear and tear.
She's also trying to pick bits of string shot out of her hair carefully with a small spray bottle filled with some kind of nice smelling oil. She'd heard peanut butter, but she really doesn't want to have to smell that all day.
Right through the center of the city. Past people. Ignoring dirty looks as she sprays that stuff while she mutters.
Still, it's a sunny afternoon and it's rather pleasant out really! Today's friend is her Froslass. Who is currently floating to the other side, also trying to carefully pull the string shot from her hair while the teen grumbles about bugs and string shot and bats. She just wanted a pikachu or shinx or something!
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
It's a mostly ordinary day, except there's something of a minor celebrity in town. That minor celebrity... one of the Visitors!
They're making a visit alongside an upright orange lizard-shaped Pokemon in Miliza, just making the rounds. Miliza's tail is upright and alert the entire time, at risk of overstimulation from the highly developed city of Cerulean.
Standing next to her is her Trainer, one Ethius Hesiod, who has been taking a surprisingly casual stroll in a maroon hoodie and black trousers, looking almost as indistinct as possible were it not for the tell of his short, round ears. Every so often he lays his hand atop Miliza, trying to keep her calm as she seems apt to point her hand-carved wooden poleaxe at pretty much anything that looks threatening.
He's spending time while waiting to meet with someone else around Cerulean later. Things are tense knowing the immense stakes that the Ten Wise Men present, but in the meantime with multiple parties already in the loop, there's not much reason to do anything other than to try and keep his own set of friends at relative ease.
He casts a glance in Nina's direction as he sees her struggles with something in her hair (knowing his time with Ida's Caterpie, it's String Shot) but doesn't initiate unless she asks for help. After all, his Miliza has something that could help scrape that off...
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
Sable Aomori has been training hard. New moves for her Pokemon, which must be executed precisely. A new Pokemon to round out her team for the purposes of this challenge. And...
Her own self-discipline, that must be perfect in order to avoid misguiding her Pokemon when the time comes.
This means...
At the side of the street, Nina will see her friend! She is dressed as is usual for her; fur-lined jacket, tanktop, shorts, and sneakers, makeup dark and dramatic. And she is standing... on one foot.
Her elbows are out, her hands together, her other foot against her knee, as she meditates on her Pokemon. On her hand, balancing in concentration, is her Piplup. Pokemon and Trainer both remain silent--until Nina approaches.
She opens one eye, and then the other. "...Ulpi," she comments. She reaches up, picks up her Piplup, and sets him on the ground. "Nina's back..."
She starts to walk to her, regarding Ethius for a moment. "..." She thinks about that. She thinks back to Loren. Then she calls to Nina, "Nina. You didn't do very well."
That's obvious.
Then she looks to Ethius again. "Mister Visitor..."
"You seem to have a Pokemon." She pauses. "...Do you feel welcomed in Nede?"
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Damian sighs as he plods down the street. He's got his phone out, and a close look would indicate that he's got some kind of map open, following its directions. He's in town for a couple of different reasons--he's running an errand, but he's also, at the same time, picking something up to help him take care of the Egg that's been nestled securely in his backpack for a while now. He looks... tired, or maybe sad, or maybe just a bit thoughtful.
He's been to Filgaia now. There is... a lot to digest, there.
He's fairly short for his age, and looks rather young still. He's got shaggy purple hair, very pale silver eyes, and rectangular glasses over them. He's in his casual garb of a hoodie, shorts, and sneakers, and of course, on his shoulder is a Purrloin, who... let's be honest, might be better groomed than Damian himself is.
Purri meows softly, and Damian looks up from his phone, blinking as he sees Ethius. "O-oh, another visitor... h-his Miliza seems kinda jumpy..."
Sadly, he can relate to that feeling.
But he's still looking at Ethius as he turns the corner, and suddenly his senses catch up to him. Right in front of him is Nina's Frosslass, and he lets out a startled yelp and takes a few steps back, clutching his phone to his chest. Purri, meanwhile, jumps down to the ground and takes a ready posture.
Unlike the Seraph, which was strange and unkown, Frosslass is a known quantity. But it still takes him a moment to get his breathing under control.
<Pose Tracker> Nina Chiyome has posed.
Nominally, Nina would be excited to meet another alien! (No she won't stop.) Today's not the day to meet someone when you're covered in sticky silly string and dirty and needing a shower and-
Still, she does spot the visitor and tries to get a good look. Half wondering if he's going to sprout claws and wings too. She'd seen him before at the second crime scene of that day after all! "What?" she finally asks. Hand half pulled away from her head covered in string.
Before she can follow up, for better or worse Sable calls her out! "Nope!" She admits, not at all bothered by failure, "I know there's supposed to be some electric types out here and.." she pauses, "That'd still be a gap in my lineup though-" She scowls. She'd just decided on a whim she'd wanted an electric type for this and ignored other options. (She also didn't find any grass types that would work!)
"Found a lot of bugs and other things though. Which I mean, I liked my dad's Venomoth, but that's not what I was after you know?" She rocks foot to foot and finally grits her teeth and tries to pull the last of the string strand from her hair. It mostly worked. Only took a few strands with it. Which gets a grimace from the girl. "Ugh."
That's good enough for now. The frosslass had tried freezing the string to pull it free herself. Which worked mostly. Kinda. The trainer only looks a little frazzled. Then Damian lets out a yelp and she spins on her heel thinking it's some kind of trouble. There's that brief moment of confusion. Then a purrloin's ready to fight and she facepalms.
"I'm not having a battle in town, we didn't even make eye contact." She's definitely misread what his problem actually was! The froslass for her credit, looks just as confused. Looking between the two trainers before slowly drifting behind Nina, watching over her shoulder.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
'Mister Visitor...'
Ethius turns around at the address. It's not the first time he's been spoken to like that, and it's not the last. To look upon this particular visitor, there's something about his nature that's distant, aloof, and a little weird. (He's an alien, so that last bit is a given. Those round ears! So weeeeeeiiiiirrrrrrrd.)
Miliza looks up to Ethius expectantly as her presence is referred to, her tail still wiggling upright in alert while he keeps his hand rested atop her head.
"Nede has been accommodating," the man speaks with a certain reservation to his words. He nods his head the one. "I... suppose 'welcomed' is accurate, yes.' He could have just said 'yes!'
From the corner of his eye, he can see a nervous young man who seems to be recoiling. Is it him? He did overhear the 'another visitor' from him, and the commentary about his Miliza which... he recognizes is on-point. He's had his challenges with each of his Pokemon friends.
"Hm? Oh." Ethius shakes his head. "I apologize, the invitation to battle was not my intention." Even with Nina's talk about how their gazes didn't meet, no one could blame him for shirking it. That Miliza looks barely that far out from their days as a wild Pokemon along the Kanto Plains Route!
"You seemed to be in distress, so I was going to inquire if you needed assistance," the visitor remarks as he takes stock of all their friends out around them. A floating... cold ghost? A little penguin, and a cat.
"...Am I interrupting anything?" He asks, inquisitively, as he finds himself at the center of attention.
"Za." Miliza whispers.
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
Ethius eventually says yes. A small smile dawns on Sable's face, happy at his answer. "I'm glad," she says. "The other Visitor didn't..."
Sable looks a little older, but mostly because she's so tall--5'9" in these sneakers. She's actually only sixteen. And she is bantering with her old friend Nina! Well, it sounds like she's bluntly calling her out, but for them it's banter. "Hmm... Maybe next time. Sometimes it's hard to find the Pokemon you're after."
"Bugs can be very strong," she says. She looks to Nina as she tries to get rid of the string. "I don't think freezing the string is the best approach."
But there's a yelp! Sable turns to face Damian. Damian may notice the resemblence to a certain Professor, or he may be too busy to think about that right now. She turns from looking down at Miliza towards Damian. "That's okay," she says for Nina about the battle invitation. "I think he's having a problem too..."
Sable is thoughtful, and then looks to her Piplup. Her Piplup looks up at her. "Pip..."
"What's wrong?" she asks Damian. "Your Purrloin looks agitated..."
Piplup in the meantime approaches Ethius's Miliza. "Pip?" he wonders.
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
After a moment, Damian shakes his head furiously to Nina. "N-n-no, it's... it's not..." He stammers for a moment before managing to put his phone away in his pocket.
It takes him a moment or two to calm his breathing. "S-sorry." A very brief look directly at Frosslass before glacing away from her. Then a second, even quieter, "Sorry" just for her. "P-Purri--"
And it's the visitor checking up on him next, and Damian kind of flinches a bit from having another person pay attention to him unexpectedly when he's already in his state. Does he need assistance? He shakes his head quickly. "N-n-no, I'm, I'm fine, I j-just need..." He's trying to get his phone into his pocket now so he can open his arms for his Purrloin. "P-Purri--"
His cheeks flush a bit as a third person takes notice of his distress. "sh-she's fine-- She just--" The phone is finally shoved in his pocket and he opens his arms to his pokemon. "Purri!" For all that she was taking an agressive stance, Purri wasn't actually poised to attack, and when Damian calls her back she immediately turns and leaps up into his arms, purring and nuzzling up under his chin.
Damian hugs her close, lowering his head to hers while taking another step back--but this is distinctly away from Frosslass, not from Ethius. "S-sorry. G-ghosts." he says simply, as if that explains everything.
He does seem to be calming down, now, with Purri in his arms.
<Pose Tracker> Nina Chiyome has posed.
Nina Chiyome shakes her head and makes a dismissive gesture, "Not you not you, he has his Purrloin out and ready to fight and-" she looks confused. "No wait what's going on now then?"
She glances between the visitor, her friend and the jumpy kid and frowns. Finally looking to Sable, "What did I miss?" seeming genuinely at a loss!
She does add as an aside, "He seems happier than the last at least!" Avoiding any jokes about food and the consequences thereof at least this time!
"I would appreciate the help I think. If you have stuff for it." She finally says to Ethius, trying to organize things in nice bite sized chunks for her mind.
The frosslass replies to Nina's comment on freezing with a forelorn "Fross" and gets a dignified look about her. Complete with crossed arms. Sort of. She's clearly learned some bad habits from Nina.
As for Damian's distress. She looks confused and asks, "Where?" Thinking he'd seen a ghost of the non pokemon-y sort. She spins around. Then pauses and frowns. (Away from the near catatonic boy) and murmurs, "Sorry Korukiri, we'll do some more later." and draws her into a pokeball. She can figure it out when she's not split three or four ways.
She does refrain from grumbling about it even! Then she points at Sable as a belated follow up, "They are! I like a lot of bug types, but they're not what I need right now!" She knows her typing, she even knew vaguely she had a lot of weaknesses in her lineup, but that hadn't realy been an issue in the second gym and all!
"We're going for some grass types later. You'll want them too for-" she pauses. "You already went through Pewter didn't you."
A glance sidelong and she adds, "You okay?" to Damian
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
'The other Visitor didn't...'
"Ah," Ethius doesn't know who it could be, and if he did he wouldn't be speaking in their defense, but nonetheless, "our arrival to Nede was very sudden. Not... everyone, can be expected to immediately adjust to their new surroundings."
Exhibit A, Ethius, who did a lot of pickpocketing early to make sure the resources were there for people who simply could not fully come to grips with the environs and change in situation, a series of acts ultimately needless given how kind and accommodating Nede has been.
Miliza's tail starts to lower, so Ethius takes his hand off of their scalp as Piplup approaches. Miliza wanders a short ways ahead, looking to the littler penguin with a tilt of her head.
"Mili? Mi." The question is a bit sharp, but the following 'statement,' such as it is, is milder. It's as if in curiosity as to whether Piplup is a friend, like a soldier at a checkpoint checking for credentials and reason. She gradually chills.
"Ghosts?" He addresses Damian stammering through speaking their feeling. He inwardly considers if it's a prospective extension of a fear of mortality given the immense danger the entire universe (or at least, these two immediate sectors of the galaxy, wherever Energy Nede is located) is currently subject to by the Ten Wise Men. "I see. If it brings you any comfort, I am not a ghost."
True! Ethius is alive. Hoorayyyyyyy~
With Nina's invitation to allow him to come help, he nods and comes a little closer.
"All right. I've been traveling with another who knows String Shot," Ida's Caterpie friend - and technically his own Arcmene too. "Miliza."
Miliza's tail rises as she looks up from her short time with Piplup. they come to his side, eventually.
"Please hold your poleaxe there," he says, as Miliza dutifully holds her wooden poleaxe carefully, so that Nina can scrape the String Shot off. Miliza, being a grass-type, is along the lines of something Nina's been looking for!
"If I may inquire, why do you specifically need... multiple, of a type? There appears to be a healthy number of grass species on the ground around Cerulean City."
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
"I'm not sure," Sable admits to Nina. What did she miss? Well. "He does seem happier than the last..." Then she looks at Ethius again and inclines her head. "That makes sense," she says. "I would have difficulty adjusting to a new place immediately, myself."
It's fine if Ethius did crimes. SABLE'S MOTHER does crimes. Not that she knows this.
Piplup answers Miliza though, "Pip! Piiip!" to indicate that he is indeed a Friend, practically saluting back as much as is possible with its arm sizes. Wings, really.
"I think he's afraid of your Froslass," Sable reflects. But then she looks at Damian again. "...But he seems to be feeling better now. Is that true?" She pauses. "I'm glad that you're feeling better, if it is. Nina doesn't mean to scare people, but she's often thoughtless. She's a good person, though."
Then she regards Ethius... Who is helping, and then--
"Different Pokemon have different strengths and weaknesses, even within a Type--or even within a species, for that matter. They can learn different moves. I think my Bellsprout will be sufficient, but I may capture an Itchel or an Oddish if I need. ...The Cerulean gym uses Water types. It is wise to have a variey of Pokemon capable of challenging the Gym. Focusing on only one strong Pokemon leads you to trouble if that Pokemon is countered..."
Pause. "I did. I have a Boulder Badge. It's my only badge so far... But I'm proud of it. My team worked hard."
She looks to Damian, "Do you have any Badges?"
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Damian takes a deep breath when Nina recalls her Frosslass, and seems to be steadier now, though he still takes a few moments to hug Purri close to him. Finall, after a moment he says, quietly, "V-vegetable oil." Deep breath, and then, "F-for the String Shot."
It takes him a moment to consider how he's doing when Nina asks, but eventually he answers with a quick nod.
"S-sorry, a-about Korukiri," he says, quietly. "I-I have some homemade Pokepuffs, f-for her, if y ou want..."
Damian just nods in response to Ethius' statement of 'Ghosts?'. That's all Ethius gets, (aside from watching Damian cuddle his Purrloin for a moment), until he reassures him that he is alive. Damian looks up to Ethius, blinking. There is a quick shake of his head.
"F-Frosslass. Sh-she's Ice/Ghost."
Oh. So it's not fear of mortality in general or the precarious harm their worlds now find themselves in, it's just... a pokemon.
... Wait Pokemon can be undead!?
Damian might have some input on 'finding oneself in a new place'... eventually. Once he's calmed down more.
He looks to Sable as she asks if he's feeling better. "Y-yeah. S-sorry, i-it's just..." He struggles for a moment to think of how to summarize a lifetime of anxiety built up by overbearing parents and a special ability he does not want getting around. "... c-complicated," is all he says, finally.
He quickly shakes his head as Sable mentions Nina being thoughtless. "N-n-not her f-fault! I w-wasn't... paying attention..." If he hadn't been so wrapped up in his thoughts he might've realized she was there sooner.
Sable does a good job of explaining why different pokemon of a type have different strengths and weaknesses. Damian chimes in with, "A-and you have to consider subtypes, t-too. A lot of p-pokemon are Grass and Poison, b-but th-they have different strengths a-and weaknesses i-if they have Flying or F-fighting as a second type..."
The look to Sable as she asks if he has any badges and he shakes his head. "M-mm." Then he looks at Sable for a moment. She's tall, and the resemblance... He regards her curiously, trying to figure out how to ask an awkward question.
"A-are... D-do you know D-Doctor Aomori?"
"I-I'm Damian. A-and this is Purri."
Purri lets out an enthusiastic "Purr!" before going back to nuzzling Damian.
<Pose Tracker> Nina Chiyome has posed.
Nina Chiyome rocks from foot to foot for a moment, clearly wanting to protest Sable's comment that she's sometimes thoughtless. "Pff." Is her actual response. She had too many options of a retort and frizzles out.
She does stick her tongue out at her friend though.
Ethius is given some more scrutiny though. "I hear it was a teleporter thingy. I was sad to find out it wasn't via a funny sound." She does add a cheery, "Most of oyu seem happy enough except uh-" she trails off. Then shrugs. That was resolved. Not a problem now. Maybe the girl really did just need a hug? Seemed like it.
She does hold still while they work on clearing her hair though, "Yeah there were a few, but they got away and I kinda wanted an electric type. I liked the stuff I saw at Vermilion." Which is probably why she wanted a pikachu, because ultimately she wanted a raichu. Big fluffy pillow and bug zapper!
"Like Anne was saying, you want a wide spread! I uh, might have noticed I have a lot of weaknesses involving rock and ground types. If not both. So-" she lifts a hand and waggles it, "Might want to branch out a bit even if I like who I have now and all and.. feel bad not bringing them all with me." Which might be why she hasn't caught a TON of stuff and has instead sketched it!
"I have Cerulean's and Vermilion's. I liked the last one, he uh... seemed to actually want me to improve." It had been a hard fought victory.
She holds up the bottle of oil she'd been using. Scented admittely and swishes it, "Yeah I heard the same, but it's still tangled in and messy and I'm probably going to have to hang my head in the shower for hours after."
She nods at the offer for the puffs, "I'll pass it along to her when it's clear then, thanks" Though she's still got her hands full for now. Kinda. "Sable everyone knows your mom. It's weird." She's teasing a bit, but everyone HAS recognized her so far.
Then a glance back to Damian, "It's fine. Really."
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Miliza is satisfied with this identification. Today. Her kind of Pokemon get eaten by virtually everyone and everything, one can't blame her for being on guard. Luckily, Nede is a kind world when it comes to trained Pokemon, and as Miliza gets used to the 'trained' life, well. Maybe there'll be less of this. Maybe.
Ethius is paying attention when talk comes about 'strengths' and 'weaknesses' and emphasis on the word 'Type.'
"So what you're saying is these... gyms, specialize in a specific... species, or tactic, that certain kinds of Pokemon counter," he tries to parse. The terminology here is vastly different from any sort of categorization he's ever known.
Damian clarifies about why this fear is about a 'Forsslass' that's 'Ice/Ghost.'
"So a Pokemon can be two... Types," the Visitor internalizes. Once he understands this, he's going to wonder just how Miliza managed to face down and survive a Fire-, Bug-, and Flying-type set of Pokemon and win. He nods long as DAmian talks about how the Ghost-type fear is complicated.
"So... every Grass-type Pokemon would be specifically weak, or strong, to something without... exception, beyond an accompanying Type." He doesn't blink for a few seconds. He's not sure if he's impressed with the simplicity of it, or horrified that this sort of rock-paper-scissors system may be their one-size-fits-all approach to maintaining a delicate ecosystem.
"I see." Does he?!
"It was related to a teleportation accident, yes," he answers Nina. This is at least half-true, the Ten Wise Men didn't mean to take them along for the ride. "I assure you, most of us are relieved we got to land as softly as we did here." Still, as Nina works with clearing her hair with Miliza's help, Ethius keeps careful watch to make sure nothing untoward happens, as Nina goes into greater detail about the need to have a wide spread.
"I should introduce myself, then, I apologize." He clears his throat. "My name is Ethius. Where I'm from, my field is in applied xenoanthropology." He rests his hand atop Miliza again in order to keep her at ease while she holds her poleaxe for Nina to use to scrape off String Shot. Miliza does not like Bug-types, and he recognizes having that much String Shot to remove from her own weapon might be stressing. "Field work in the preservation of cultural structures and histories."
"Is this... gym visitation you're all speaking of a regular occurrence here?"
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
"It's okay," Sable says to Nina. "I'm thoughtlesss sometimes too. Everyone says so." Vegetable oil... That's good thinking. But Damian answers her too. "Is it?" she asks of complicated. "Okay. I believe you." But Damian wasn't paying attention... Hmm. "Okay."
Damian continues the explanation. It is helpful! While Nina, too, helps. "The gym leaders want most of us to improve, don't they?" she asks Nina. But, "It's important to get over feeling bad for something like that," Sable opines. "Your Pokemon are counting on you to make wise decisions. If you're overly sentimental... they might like it in the short term, but you won't achieve your goals."
Piplup does not attempt to eat Miliza. He'd have a type disadvantage, as it happens!
"That is correct," Sable answers Ethius. "And that's true, though if your Pokemon is powerful enough, or has the right Moves, or you have a good strategy... They can overcome the disadvantage."
But a teleportation accident... "I'm glad you weren't hurt too badly. The news of the Ten Wise Men is scary... and no one wants to talk about it."
He introduces himself! "Oh. That's interesting. We try to preserve culture and history, too. Not us in particular. Just our society."
"The Gym visits are normal. It's part of a journey and a challenge. Many people take this challenge; it's to visit all eight Gyms and try to get their Badges, and then to travel to the Pokemon League Headquarters and challenge them, too."
A pause. She looks to Damian. "yes," she says. "That's my mother." She considers. "You're right, Nina. Many people seem to know her..."
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Damian nods as Nina holds up the bottle. "O-oh, I see..." He nods a little. "H-hot water will help. And steam." He pauses a moment to look between the others. "I-I have a Wurmple."
But Nina will take the Pokepuffs! Damian actually smiles a little bit and nods. He seems happy to be able to get to share them with someone. "O-okay." He relaxes his grip on Purri, who jumps down to the ground, stretching out luxuriously and then sitting primly upright as she keeps an eye on Damian.
Slipping his backpack off, Damian sets it on the ground and kneels going through it--the main compartment has an egg in it, apparently, but he works through the other pockets to pull out and bundle up a couple of Pokepuffs. Looks like there's some Poffins and a few other things in there too. Maybe they're all handmade.
So a Pokemon can be two Types?
Damian nods. "Y-yeah. One or two." And then a follow-up question about types gets another nod. "Uh huh. E-every type is s-strong or weak against some other types." He pauses for a moment. "I-it's a bit different from how... animals work, o-on Filgaia and Lunar," he admits. As if that clarifies everything.
"A-a lot of people travel to the gyms, b-but s-some people set out to do research, o-or other reasons." Damian, mysteriously, does not clarify his own reasons for setting out on a Journey.
"S-sorry if that was a weird thing to ask. Um..." He opens his backpack a little bit more to show off the Egg. "I found this egg, o-or it found me, I guess, and D-Doctor Aomori is helping me with it."
<Pose Tracker> Nina Chiyome has posed.
Nina Chiyome holds a free hand up, "Less species and more type. Two species might share a type or both types, but you-" she pauses, "Don't get a lot of divergence without going out of your way to other areas with adaptations and other things relaly." She does actually pay attention! Or at least studies on her own. She just dislikes classrooms!
She's not about to delve into the further details of it. It's really not that weird to her after all!
"Both types come into play, so some grass types that have water with them might not be as uh.. flammable. But it evens out in other ways." It's grand scale rock paper scissors!
"So you stare at aliens. I'm Nina by the way." She likes that word. Clearly. "It is though, yeah. Or common enough? I don't know." She watched the same shows, but 'common on TV' and 'Common' are two different things.
She agrees with Anne. Twice even. Nodding sagely when she says she's thoughtless, complete with a teasing grin. "Just staring into space." Taking the joke in a different direction. She has to get some digs back in!
She does follow up with, "Strategy does go some way though, she's right there. It's just risky and shouldn't be your first thought." Unless your name is Nina and you realize too late that you have that option or no option and.. oops.
"See I'd consider steam, but I didn't want to try and do that without torching my eyebrows again." She shoots Sable a look at that, then back to Damian, "How did an egg find you exactly?" There's a pause, "You made sure it's not a togepi right?"
She leans forward, just a tiny bit, trying to avoid making the cleanup a bigger hastle, "I set out to keep up with Sable-" she adds in a teasing tone, "I think I'm winning" and then adds more seriously, "And my sisters joined in to see what we could do on our own. And so we can't be tied to any crime scenes on accident." That last part is said deadpan.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
'The news of the Ten Wise Men is scary... and no one wants to talk about it.'
Ethius keeps his poker face, remembering what was discussed between Professor Oak, Mayor Nall, and the visitors who all were brought to see that strange sight on the hill. What Nina's describing is something that doesn't have easy answers.
Especially when Mayor Nall made it clear that Energy Nede needs everyone's help, even at the immense technological disadvantage. There really isn't anyone else they can turn to, who can stand up and say 'we'll deal with this.' This may be true for the entire universe.
He's nodding along at explanations about gyms, gym leaders, and how a type disadvantage isn't the be-all, end-all doom that it might be.
Miliza's tail rises at the scent of Pokepuffs, while Damian continues to explain types and--
'I-it's a bit different from how... animals work, o-on Filgaia and Lunar.'
"I wasn't aware you were already well-versed in the locales we came from," Ethius turns a discerning eye towards Damian. He's introduced himself as some kind of scholar, but there's a bearing in his posture and manner that seems to suggest something... else. Maybe it's just a cultural difference between Energy Nede and those two places. Maybe.
'So you stare at aliens.'
Ethius stares. "Yes. That is correct."
Miliza loves the smell of the Pokepuffs and, unfortunately, Ethius doesn't quite catch that as he keeps his hand on her scalp to keep her calm while Nina continues to clean up the mess in her hair, and make a deadpan mention about not being tied to any crime scenes on accident. He raises his other hand.
"I won't tell on you." He reassures, though his hand lowers as he considers the tension in the air. No one wants to talk about the Ten Wise Men. He's kept that poker face going, but he sees that there is a lot of worry brewing about just how awful a situation things are. And they are!
...
"When I grew up, I went through a world-changing event myself. I won't go into details," he says, "but it was frightening, and nothing was ever the same again."
He shouldn't spell it out. How they talk about it and share the information should be up to Energy Nede and its people, and yet...
"I will say," he looks off to the side, "even if it's not being widely discussed - and I would not blame that - I am in contact with some visitors involved in high-level talks." He's one of them, but this is as far as he's willing to admit of his capabilities.
"There isn't a lack of trying on their part. I can't say 'it will all work out,' or 'don't worry.' All I can say is... I am aware of efforts being made to prepare and combat the issue."
It's as gentle as he can put it. He doesn't want to give false hope under the idea that he survived direct contact with Metatron twice. But it is all the more reason to endeavor to make the next encounter their last.
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
Staring into space. "Oh..." Sable looks at Nina, "Rude." She smiles This is normal for them.
She looks at Damian. "I didn't know that," she says. "Have you talked with a lot of Visitors?"
Research, other reasons... "That's true," Sable answers. And then Damian shows them the Egg. "That sounds like something she would do," she has of her mother and helping with the Egg.
"I hope that the Egg hatches well. But if Mom's helping you then it'll be fine. She's really good at what she does."
Pause. "They grew back," Sable says to Nina of her eyebrows. "So it's fine."
Ethius won't tell on her... Hmmm. "You're too open about some things," Sable decides to tell Nina. "Nobody thinks about crime scenes if you don't bring it up."
"Mom wouldn't want you to get caught doing crimes."
But... There's something else. There's a wway Ethius starts to explain...
"Really?" Sable asks him. A world-changing event. And what he says...
"So there are people trying to fix it..."
Sable looks into the distance, just like Nina accused her of doing. "Okay," Sable says.
"...I don't know if I could do something like that," she admits. "I've never tried... I've never thought about a danger that big, or how to change the world..."
"..."
"Thank you," Sable says. "I'm still scared, but you're trying to help. You're supposed to thank someone for that."
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Nobody wants to talk about it... there are some that do, but... Damian can't mention them. But he does think about how it's one more thing that needs to change.
Damian blinks at the mention of torching eyebrows. "W-well, y-you can get hot water and steam in the shower, and th-that's safe... just g-go to a hostel o-or a Pokemon center."
But Nina asks a very good question, and Damian rubs at the back of his neck a little bit. "Eh-heh... I, um... w-was camping, I woke up, a-and it was in my backpack." He nods. "Y-yeah. I-it's not a Togepi. ... m-maybe a Togepi egg? That'd be cute... b-but I won't know, u-until it hatches."
Damian looks mildly confused--and mildly alarmed--by the mention of crime scenes.
He didn't see Nina at the office party, right? He's pretty sure he didn't... There is a silent sweatdrop as Sable mentions her mom and crimes in the same sentence.
'I wasn't aware you were already well-versed in the locales we came from.'
Damian freezes, slowly looking up to Ethius and shrinking back a little as he sees that discerning eye. "I-I, well, I've m-met some people... from there..." This is technically true! If trying to step carefully around the topic of 'I actually went and visited.'
It's not technically forbidden that he did so, but... there might be some uncomfortable questions that arise from that admission. Such as who he went with.
But Sable's question offers an easy out, and he nods to her. "A-a few."
"M-Mister Hesiod, w-would you like a Pokepuff for your Miliza? S-Sable, I have one for your Piplup, too..."
But Ehtius makes that admission about growing up, and Damian pauses, blinking as he tries to process that. Eventually, quietly, he says, "I'm sorry..."
There's high-level talks to address the issue... Damian considers that against thoughts of his friend Joy, who's already expressed, quite strongly, a desire to fight, or Team Rocket's stated goals...
Sable hopes it grows well. "M-me too! I wanted... I wanted to make sure it was really well-taken care of."
Damian is quiet for a moment as he considers what it takes to change things. Joy is far more determined than him, but... she has determination. And he's seen, first-hand, Anne's determination to change the world, which he admires. Even if nothing has really... crystalized, within himself, of what he wants to change.
Or even just... what he wants, at all.
"Th-thanks," he says, echoing Sable's sentiment.
<Pose Tracker> Nina Chiyome has posed.
Nina Chiyome gestures towards him at Sable's comment, "Yeah it's fine. He was there at the relevant one." and it's still hard to fully tell if she's joking. Kind of hard to deny being there when she was explicitly spotted and all.
Then she looks back, "Besides, I haven't committed any." Lately. That's the unspoken word. This day at least. "Besides, it's fine. He said he wouldn't tell." And she has nothing on her that'd get her in trouble. Hah!
Nina does catch the reaction to the mention of pokepuffs and at least offers one of the offered ones from earlier up to the pokemon since it's being nice and helping out and all that!
"They did, I was just beating you to the joke." She points with that before mentioned free hand.
Ethius tries to reassure three teens and Nina actually looks serious for a moment. "I'm sure it will work out. They were beaten before. Kinda." Very much an optimist clearly.
Besides, she's going to help! That can only go so well.
She doesn't fully look as confident as she sounds, but that can't be that surprising.
Damian's reason for having an egg gets a simple, more natural sounding, "That brings up even more questions!" Clearly excited at the idea of mysterious eggs. "Where? I want to try." She still sounds earnest.
"I've met a few people too. A girl that talks to herself and kinda him and a mon-" She catches herself. Yeah that's what she thought the girl was, but these people knew her and she's not ENTIRELY without tact! "They seem neat at least." Uh.. "I mean nice." Both really.
Both Sable and Damian's response is met with a quiet nod, regarding the threat. "Thanks" She adds, "Though I'm still going to help.."
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius quietly scrutinizes what Damian has to say... but on personal reflection, the people he came to Energy Nede with are not beholden to the UP3 and have always been warm, open, and friendly (on average). With Pokemon being so culturally dominant here, and the excitement there must be to discover new kinds of 'Pokemon' in the form of 'animals,' well... he can tell himself to relax.
"I apologize," he says to Damian, not wanting to drive the nervous young man over the edge in tension. "I did not mean to imply you've done anything wrong."
An offer of a Pokepuff is made, and Ethius' eyes widen. "That... that would explain how she's started to stir there. You're hungry, aren't you," he looks to Miliza.
"...iza." That's a 'yes, you noticed.'
"Thank you. Yes, Miliza would appreciate one." It's not 'my Miliza,' it's Miliza.' Did he literally just name Miliza, Miliza? (Yes. Ethius is terrible at names.)
Sable thanks him for trying to bring some measure of peace and assurance that at least something will happen. An attempt. An attempt is all anyone can ask right now. Giving that much reassurance is all he can do, in the moment.
How a xenoanthropologist would get so close to such high-level talks, well...
He nods along to Damian's echoing of thanks, and Nina expresses in her carefree way as to how sure she is it'll work out. He hopes it will, for all their sakes.
"If it's all right, we should get going soon," he asides to Miliza, but he'll stay around as long as it takes for her to get her Pokepuff. "I'm supposed to meet with someone here soon. I had some time, so we went on a walk together."
"...It might not be a bad idea to try the gym challenge, perhaps, if a Visitor is eligible to participate." So far, they've had access to virtually all social services offered, and no one's come to take their befriended Pokemon away. "I will endeavor to keep your advice in mind."
Piplup could probably take Miliza right now. That's... he's going to need to keep a lot of it in mind.
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
"Oh," Sable says to Nina of the joke. "I guess I would've brought it up eventually..."
But apparently Ethius was at the scene of a crime, and Nina hasn't committed any lately, and...
"A mysterious Egg... That's interesting." A pause. "Ulpi would like a Poke Puff." The Piplup in question makes a cheerful noise at this. "...And he's been working hard, so he can have one, too."
"Pip!"
"I've only met a couple of Visitors..."
Pause. "Miliza seems loyal anyway. That's a good start."
But for going, "...That's okay. I should get back to preparing. Or looking after Nina so that she doesn't burn off her eyebrows again." She pauses. "That happened more than once. It's why I don't have any Fire-types..."
But she smiles at Damian. "Tell Mom I said hi, when you see her again. If you want to take care of an Egg... you must be okay, too."
Then, to Ethius?
"There's no rules that aliens can't participate," Sable says. "Oh, sorry. I'm not supposed to call you aliens. It made the other Visitor mad when Nina did it, and he didn't even have a weird forehead. And from your perspective, we're the aliens anyway."
"...I mean, yes, you should try it. But don't underestimate the Gym Leaders, either."
Piplup is already waddling towards Damian, in the meantime. "Oh..."
Sable says, "My name's Sable. Sable Aomori. It's nice to meet you."
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Even more questions--Damian nods. "Y-yeah..." He looks a little embarassed by that, and not having more answers. As for where... "W-well, it was in Viridian Forest, s-so... try there?" A glance to Sable. "Th-that's how I met Doctor Aomori, sh-she had the closest lab."
It is true that the thrill of seeing new Pokemon--whether they are actually pokemon or not--is infectious. And Damian relaxes a great deal as Ethius apologizes, looking relieved. He seems pretty nervous and on edge to begin with, so many it's not such a stretch for him to get so nervous at Ethius' scrutiny.
"I-it's okay," he says, to the apology. "Th-thanks."
And then another shy, timid smile as breaks out another one for Ethius' Miliza. "Y-you're welcome!" He hands it to Miliza if they're done with the string, otherwise it goes to Ethius to hang onto. "Th-thanks for all your hard work, Miliza!"
Damian gets another one for Ulpi, handing it to him. "H-here you go, Ulpi." Nina gets a small package with two, since those are specifically to apologize to her Frosslass. "I h-hope you all enjoy them. I made them myself."
In Anne's kitchen, but now's not the time to get into that.
He nods to Sable, "I-I will." And then blinks and blushes a little as she compliments him. "O-oh, th-thanks. Th-that's nice of you to say..." He nods as Sable introduces himself. He gave his name earlier, but since Sable brought out the last name-- "Damian Tamaoka."
But there's encouragement to Ethius to try the gym, and Damian seems to spark up with an idea while he's handing out Pokepuffs. After he's done, he stands up and fishes his phone out. "O-oh, Mister Hesiod, since w-we were discussing it earlier..."
He taps at the screen for a couple of seconds, and pulls up an image. He turns his phone to show it to Ethius. "H-here, th-this might help."
It's the full Pokemon type chart.
"I-if you have a phone, I can send you the link..."