2024-01-24: We Don't Have Pyreflies Here On Energy Nede
- Log: 2024-01-24: We Don't Have Pyreflies Here On Energy Nede
- Cast: Timu Guado, Damian Tamaoka
- Where: Celadon City - Centropolis Plaza
- Date: January 24, 2024
- Summary: Timu Guado meets with one of her new friends on Energy Nede, Damian, late into the day at Celadon City after a fun day with her new friend Fuecoco. They talk a little about life where she came from, find shared ground in how much the concept of death relates to their lives... and, on a lark, a moment of youthful impetuousness and celebration over making another friend.
=====================<* Celadon City - Centropolis Plaza *>===================== In the distant past, Celadon City was simply "Centropolis," owing to its housing of many central functions of government and state. Eventually, the local council decided the city could use an image change to attract more travellers and events, and thus Celadon City was born under an ambitious and prominent civil plan that saw the rise of many department stores and haute couture boutiques. Today, Celadon City is the crown jewel of shopping and consumer goods, and virtually anything can be found here, if you know where to look. Celadon City also houses the Nede Times, Energy Nede's first and foremost publication. Centropolis Plaza rests at the centre of Celadon City, and boasts a large fountain designed by a famous artisan. Pidoves and other small Bird Pokemon often rest on its many tiers. Around the plaza is a multitude of delicatessens and open-terrace restaurants, making the spot popular with office workers taking their lunch break, and as a gathering spot. BGM: Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee & Pikachu! - Celadon City - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRmmK8mm9FE
<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.
A short time ago, a Visitor - Timu Guado - received her first Pokemon, and it feels like their world has changed almost immediately. A Fuecoco - a small round crocodile-shaped creature - took to her almost immediately. (The creatures colloquially referred to by Professors and Breeders as 'starters' are oft considered to be ideal first partners for full-blown Journeys, which is to say, it's natural Fuecoco did. But it is no less magical for a young heart open to companionship and new horizons before them.)
She spent the day walking from Pallet Town all the way to Celadon getting to know her little friend. The leg strides of a Guado are long and can outpace just about anything, but youthfully ingrained impatience didn't turn the need to slow down for her little stubby-legged friend into an inconvenience. They played, they shared a few pieces of food, they had a few battles both in tall grass and against youngsters wanting to challenge them to battle.
Now, at Celadon City, the night has already come, but the city once called 'Centropolis' in times of antiquity has hardly slowed down. Timu is at a cafe not too far from the large central fountain, where she's just finishing a plate of curry while her Fuecoco friend snoozes in their chair. Aside from the stories of what ancient Zanarkand must have been like in Spira's past, she has no frame of reference for any kind of place like this.
She eyes her Fuecoco's home Pokeball in between her fingers, and just how tuckered out the little guy is after a day of running around and having fun. She'll have to be ready to find another bit of work to help support herself and Rille by the next sunrise, but right now, she's just coming down from a wonderful day.
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Damian has been wandering the streets of Celadon City, with Purri on his shoulder, for a while now, lost in thought. A chance run-in with some--friends? Coworkers? Damian wasn't sure what to classify them as and that minor detail was really the least of his considerations. Really, most of the wandering had been finding a place to sit and think, but now that night had fallen he was wandering in at least the vague direction of a Pokemon center.
Shorts are comfty and easy to wear, but warm they ain't.
He's quiet and contemplative as he advances down the street towards the cafe where Timu is seated. Purri, perched on his shoulder as always, seems a bit subdued, too... but her meow and cheek rub as she spots Timu gets him to take notice of one of his newer friends. He smiles, looking a bit tired but still happy to see her. "H-hey, Timu... how've you been?"
He gets closer to the table and pauses when he sees the Fuecoco, lighting up. "O-oh! A Fuecoco!" He then notices the Pokeball in her hands. He grows more excited, and tht tiredness seems to leave him for the moment. "T-Timu! Is that-- Is that your Fuecoco?"
<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.
"Damian!" Timu looks up, grabbing herself a third wind tonight of excitement as Fuecoco stirs awake from the exclamation.
"Fue...?" Their tiny little eyes blink.
"I've been great! I... this is my new friend, Fuecoco. He's adorable!" Fuecoco, who is filled with love and also maybe more of their body weight in food than other 'starter' peers, lights up tiredly but not with any less joy in their tiny little fiery crocodile heart. Timu clasps her hands together in excitement, ball in-between them as the excitement proves infectious between them.
"Joy gave him to me over in Pallet! We've been traveling together since," she has all the excitement of a teenager who wants to talk, talk, talk, talk, and keep talking! At least six paragraphs' worth of non-stop chatter and glowing about how cute Fuecoco is, how bold they were through the Route leading up here, what food they like to eat... Timu might be a Visitor of a strange appearance, but without the overbearing customs of her people looming over her, she's not a far cry from the likes of Sable or Nina.
She calms down from this trivia, eventually, as Fuecoco looks to Purri and tilts their head as if in consideration of 'is friend?' One of their tiny arms rests against their face in thought.
"...How've you been?"
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Damian has a warm smile for Fuecoc as he joins Timu at her table (assuming she assents, of course.) "He is!" Damian agrees of being adorable. To Fuecoc he smiles, "It's very nice to meet you."
Purri jumps down from Damian's shoulder onto the table and then lays down to look at Fuecoc in a somewhat approachable way. She recognizes a freshly-hatched pokemon, but isn't about to go causing mischief for him. Instead, she offers a friendly greeting. "Purr~"
(Besides, he's warm, and if she plays her cards right...)
"Fuecoco, this is Purri," introduces Damian.
But Timu is excited, and Damian can't blame her. "She did? Aww, that was nice of her!" He's happy to let her talk, engaging with her about the trip and her experiences bonding with Fuecoc, and even sharing some stories of his own and how he bonded with Purri. (He tiptoes around the issues of wh he got Purri, for now.)
He seems to not be expecting the return question of how he's been doing, and he falls silent for a moment, looking at the city. "I've been okay, I guess. Just... thinking about some stuff, I guess." There might be a faint blush to his cheeks. "B-but, we don't have to talk about that. Um, I found this amazing arcade here. I could show you later, o-or maybe tomorrow, when it's not so late."
"So..." he looks to Fuecoco to see how he and Purri are getting along. "... are you thinking about taking a journey?"
<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.
Timu happily allows Damian a seat at the table. He can tell that she's been enjoying curry, and if going by Fuecoco's breath from here... so have they! (Part of the Journey - keeping their teeth clean and brushed. That will be a form of great fun for another time.)
Fuecoco's mouth opens wide as they smile for Purri. "Eco~ eco~"
He doesn't flinch if Purri decides to bask in warmth. If anything, it's great that Timu fed them so well, because that's definitely the biggest challenge in raising one of them!
"Say hello to Purri," Timu says to Fuecoco, who waves a little hand.
The silence that Damian talks about isn't lost on her.
"I've... I've never been to an 'arcade,'" Timu says, a hand on her chin. "I'd like to see one sometime..."
'...are you thinking about taking a journey?'
"I am." Timu responds. "I don't know how long we'll be able to visit here... and I don't know where my road's going, but," the Guado teenager settles her hands on the table, one over the other, "I want to see where it goes... because there's somewhere I don't want to return to."
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
The sight of curry reminds Damian that he should probably eat. In a little bit. Talking with a new friend comes first. He will, however, have some tips to share about dental hygiene.
Purri smiles and waves her tail in response to Fuecoco's waving paw, then makes a short little hop from the table to the arm of Fuecoco's chair. She looks down at him with an inquiesitive, "Loin?" She wants to share the chair, if he's willing.
"O-oh, well, an arcade has a lot of video games--" Damian pauses. Oh, right. "Well a video game is--" He stops again. "Y-you know what, it'll be easier to show you."
But Timu does indeed intend to go on a journey. "C-cool." He has some... complicated feelings about it, due to both of two closest friends, but... he's happy enough to see someone else be excited for it, regardless. "Well... I-if you have any questions, let me know, and I'll do my best to help."
But she has somewhere she doesn't want to return to, and Damian nods sadly to that, looking down at the table. "Y-yeah... me too..."
<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.
Fuecoco takes up a lot of space in that chair, but after a moment, he relents and leans to the side so that Purri can have herself a seat next to him. He sleepily blinks a few times and lets his jaw slack open in a loud, cute, sustained (and maybe a bit too warm of a) yawn.
Timu catches herself matching that yawn a moment later, but only before Damian starts trying to explain video games.
"Sure... I will!" She takes up the offer, though it feeds into a sullen moment...
As beautiful lights streak the skies above, in small groups, back and forth between wireless antennae and other parts of the nighttime sky. Timu's eyes widen as she looks up, clasping her hands.
"Oh... do you have pyreflies here, too? I didn't even notice their scent," Timu asks, as she is speaking of small schools of Moteray taking to the night skies.
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Purri is flexible! She'll find the room as long as Fuecoco allows her to. She slips into whatever free space is available to her, contenting herself with stretching out around the outside edges of the chair. She may not be as warm, but she does offer a slow, contented purr as she soaks in that warmth.
Damian is plenty warm, of course, but... well. He's no Fire-type pokemon.
"Tired?" She did walk a lot today, after all, so it makes sense. "When you're done eating, I can show you where the Pokemon Center is."
He looks up, smiling as he sees the Moterays zipping around in the night sky. He looks to her curiously and shakes his head when she mentions Pyreflies. "No, those are Moterays." He pulls out his phone and takes a picture in PokeSnap, and then hands the phone to her to read the entry. "They're a pokemon."
A beat. "... What's a pyrefly?"
<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.
Fuecoco starts to nod off as Purri makes herself comfortable. With a handful of notable, well-documented exceptions like Zangoose and Seviper, and Takikodus and Erikodus (when there's a Niquia involved - at best, expert Nedian trainers have gotten them to co-exist so long as one doesn't enter the picture), Pokemon seem content to be as much friends to one another as possible.
Energy Nede is - was - once a peaceful paradise in exile from the rest of the universe, and it'd take more than word of the Ten Wise Men to disrupt thousands upon thousands of years of behavioral inertia.
Timu nods at the offer to find the Pokemon Center, and then... Damian points out the truth.
"Moterays?" He takes the phone when offered. Damian may or may not be a bit worried to watch Timu manipulate a phone, since her fingers are clawed and those hands maybe a bit too big for something like this. The Guado are adapted for climbing and rapid movement, and less... fine manipulation of small objects with touchscreens. Luckily, she isn't aware of touchscreens and only sees an incomplete amount of information that nonetheless says plenty, so there's no tragic meeting of Guado Hands vs. This Tech Not Meant For Them.
"Flying... Electric?" She reads aloud, inquisitively. "They're like... fish that keep giving light?" Spira does have some interesting fish here and there, but none she's aware of quite like this. (For one, they don't fly in the night sky like--)
Oh! Damian's asking.
"Where I'm from... pyreflies are everywhere. The spirits of the dead." Timu sets the phone down and pushes it back to Damian gently, struggling a little in holding onto them. "Sometimes... they turn into dangerous creatures called Fiends, who only hate and envy the living, so... when you see so many in one place in Spira, the first thought is that a great tragedy must have taken place."
This is a stark 180 degree turn from the folklore regarding the Moterays and their evolutions, putting it like that.
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Purri may come from a lineage that is mischevious by nature, but... perhaps Damian found an especially well-mannered one all those years ago, or he's that good at training her... or far more likely, he's just shown her enough love that she finds it easier to be nice than to be a wanton trickster.
Whatever the case, she is more than content to share space with a dozing Fuecoco.
Moterays? "Yeah, they're a Pokemon. It's amazing watching them zip around at night, isn't it?" Timu has a question about the typing. "Mmmhmm. All Pokemon have one or two types... it tells you about what their strengths and weaknesses are."
"They're not exactly fish, but they do kinda look fish-like, huh...? But yeah, Purri is Dark type, and Fuecoco is Fire type."
Damian eagerly takes the phone back, willing to help Timu out with her difficulty in manipulating it. Then he stiffens when Timu mentions 'the spirits of the dead.' He looks down at his lap, fidgeting a bit aimlessly with his phone. But he looks up, mildly alarmed as she describes Fiends.
He doesn't have to ask if those are a type of Pokemon. Somehow he already knwos. And yet... that does sound like some of the Ghost-type pokemon that are out there.
"Do... do they show up often...?"
<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.
Timu's eyes track how they're all zipping to and fro, as if with purpose rather than with the aimless drifting of Spira's pyreflies.
She's nodding along at type explanations. She hasn't been shown a chart yet, but she's also been very lucky in that the vast majority of wild Pokemon she ran into along the way here were, in fact, at a disadvantage against Fuecoco. That might be less of a benefit if she were to undertake one of the more popular Gym challenge routes of the Journey and face Brock in Pewter, but...
"Yes." Timu nods as Damian parses difficult feelings. "They usually need to be Sent - a ritual of sorts - to the Farplane where they're to rest. My people, the Guado, live at its entrance... and many of them can form Fiends themselves."
Timu lowers her gaze. "I'm not one of them. I... I don't want to be defined by what my people are, or did." There's probably a lot more to be said there about them. Fuecoco opens an eye as his new Trainer friend shows sign of worry, threatening to disrupt the gentle warm rest ecosystem that has been formed between Purri and himself!
"That's, that's part of why I'm here now," she says, more sullen than exciteable. "And... it must be frightening to think something like that exists, doesn't it," in a moment of clarity about how Energy Nede generally is not beset by this sort of thing. "It's okay, there's... there's no pyreflies anywhere but Spira," beyond what she just confused for them.
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Damian hasn't done much, if anything, in preparation for Gym challenges, though he certainly does understand some of the things he might want to consider in that regard. (Nina's struggles to find a grass type are a good reminder of that need, in fact.)
There'll certainly be more time to discuss strategy in the future.
"The Farplane..." Damian murmurs to himself. Alien, yet... not completely unfamiliar, either.
The Guaro live at the entrance. That is... distressingly familiar.
Timu doesn't want to be defined by them... There is an ache there that Damian can identify with all too well. He feels it keenly within himself.
Purri understands very well what it means to respond to the needs of a trainer in distress, and she cracks an eye open to glance sidelong at Fuecoco. "Rrr?" She can get up, if Fuecoco needs to go help his trainer. Damian's lap is still warm.
Not as warm, but still warm.
"M-maybe," Damian admits, of it being frightening. But there aren't any, and Damian looks out to the night sky, at the not-Pyreflies flitting about.
"Timu... I..." He fidgets with his phone some more. "I... I think, if th-there's anybody on Energy Nede who'd understand, I-I would..." He takes a deep breath and sighs, looking back to her. He takes his glasses off and sets them on the table. Without them it's easy to see the pale silver eyes he has.
"There's a town, Lavender Town, i-it's where Alice, Nami, and I are from. In Lavender Town, we have Pokemon Tower. It's a cemetery, for Pokemon. My family has worked in and around it for... for generations." He fidgets with his phone some. His voice becomes much quieter as he continues. "I w-was born with... an ability, my family calls Spiritsight. I can see ghosts and Ghost-type pokemon, a-and sense them, when they're hiding, and... and..."
He sighs. "Talk to them."
"My parents forced me to study... t-to become a medium, b-because it would make the family look good, but..." There is a pained look in his eyes as he glances away. "I don't like ghosts. But my parents don't care. S-so I made up a lie, and went on a Pokemon Journey, just to get away for a while..."
<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.
"Co~" Fuecoco intones in a manner befitting of 'go' and '(it's) cool,' somewhere in between, as he helps himself off his chair. He doesn't quite have the leaping skills of Purri, and so he approaches from under the table. Slowly, gradually.
Timu watches as Damian struggles with words, and then... takes off his glasses to show off those very striking eyes he has. She feels guilty looking at them like this, but they are that eye-catching.
The emphasis on the word 'generations' feels like it encompasses a span of time that might transcend what it would for anyone else, given the cultural stagnation of Energy Nede across tens of thousands of years.
Timu looks over to the staff she carries, as an initiate in mastering her gift of what Spira culturally referred to as 'prayer magic' in the time of Yevon's power and influence.
"No, I... I understand, Damian. On Spira, almost everyone is born with a kind of magic - those of prayer and healing, and those of destruction. Most of the Guado have the latter... I'm one of the few who have the former."
"Fueee!" Fuecoco nudges Timu's leg, startling her. She let him out of his sight! That's something she's not supposed to do! "Oh, I'm sorry, wait--" She stands up, kneels down, and picks up her new friend in a hug as he tries to give one in turn. Along with his curry breath. Tasty, tasty curry breath. (It's a bit of a slurry with what else he's eaten, so depending on one's tastes... that curry breath has gotten very interesting.)
She settles down as Fuecoco does, held in her lap.
"I was going to be an apprentice attendant and healer before I left Spira," she says. "It's... it's complicated. A lot of bad things happened in the last few years, and my people... made a lot of bad decisions, so they have no friends left on Spira." There's a likeness unfolding, railroaded into a career of care perhaps because so few among the Guado people could. She keeps rubbing her hands along the sides of Fuecoco, who seems contented with the handling as Timu looks up.
"So... I'm going on my own Pokemon Journey now, too. I don't think my family could find me if they wanted, now."
But she waited. She waited for her little sister, and another Guado in which there was mutual infatuation between them, only for neither of them to show up and join her. A part of her believes she might never see Pani or Goro again.
Fuecoco leans in a bit more against her to give her assurance.
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Purri expertly extricates herself from the pile of shared napping so as to make it easier for Fuecoco to get up, and, with a single expert leap, lands right in Damian's lap. He gives her a smile and a few pets.
Pets go a long way to making up for that nice warm Fire-type heat.
He puts the glasses back on once Timu's seen his eyes. He doesn't mind the staring, per se, but... he still feels better with something between his eyes and the rest of the onlooking world.
There are... many, many generations, here.
Timu looks to her staff, and Damian looks, too. "I... I noticed your staff, when we first met," he quietly admits. "I've met a Seraphim, before. I... I thought he was a ghost, but... I guess I'm just also Resonant...? B-but that's why I couldn't stop looking at it, before..."
It's okay. Purrloin was keeping an eye on Fuecoco. (And, until a few moments ago, her entire right side on him, too!)
He nods as Timu discussses prayer magic and destruction magic. They discussed that a little before. But railroaded into a career... He knows what that's like, in general. And so does Joy, in specific. "You should talk w-with Alice about this, if you haven't, already," he comments softly.
He nods as Timu says she's going on a Journey. "I'm... I'm hoping my family doesn't find me, either." He looks to the night sky. "Energy Nede m-might have its problems, but..." The Ten Wise Men are certainly an issue, but there are others he's only sort of starting to become aware of, like the long stagnation. "... b-but it is a pretty nice place, I think..."
<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.
"Seraphim... did you meet Boudicca?" Timu looks up excitedly, but Damian calls the Seraph a 'he,' and she looks a little crestfallen. Boudicca is not a 'he.' "Oh... they're kind of like spirits, but... the one my sister and I met years ago kept us safe when Spira was at war with--" Timu stops herself. These are names they don't know, and may not even matter out here. "...don't worry about it."
She hopes Boudicca and Yvain are both doing great! (Yvain's a he, come to think, maybe Damian met him and not... the actual one he met, whom Timu might have been less impressed by. We'll never know.)
She nods at mention of talking about this with 'Alice,' which unwittingly she already has! She's not fully on the up-and-up about personal nicknames, as Damian segues about hoping his family doesn't find him.
A quiet moment is shared between Trainers and their present partner Pokemon, as Fuecoco looks up to see the lines of Moterays flying closer by.
"Hey, Damian," Timu lifts up Fuecoco to put him down in a nearby seat, "I think I'm going to..."
He might know the look in her eye and the way she reaches for a Pokeball, standing up and watching Moteray schools flit about. Celadon is a popular place for them to hang out, but they're also frequent visitors alongside country radio stations and - occasionally - Ranger comms towers.
Timu watches for a moment, ball in hand before she--
--takes--
--off--
--running--
At a dizzying speed given her leg strides, leaping up off the edge of a nearby bench, grabbing a hold of a street light to pull herself up, and leap as high as she can as she hurls a Pokeball with an effortful grunt as several other nearby Nedians watch in astonishment. It's a display of agility only rarely afforded to Nedians - even Nina might have a hard time matching that!
It's tough to track the ball's movement, but there's a blast of light as something gets sucked inside of it. The Pokeball falls down to the ground, right in Timu's waiting palms. It rumbles back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...
And clicks.
She caught one!
Fuecoco cheers from over yonder, as Timu cheers.
"Did you see that?!" She calls to Damian, Purri, and Fuecoco alike. Laughter fills the air.
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
Damian shakes his head. "No, that wasn't it... A-and I don't think it was the same person who made your staff... it feels different from that..."
He is so used to using nicknames for his friends he sometimes forgets that other people might not be familiar with them. He has his own, as well.
But that look in Timu's eyes... Timu smiles a little and nods. "G-go for it," he encourages.
And then blinks as Timu takes off running. There is a moment of stunned silence, and then he immediately snatches up his phone and starts shooting a video. This is going to be something special. But his jaw is still a bit slack as she runs, jumps off a bench, off the lampst, and into the aor... and he's up on his feet when that midair throw comes. (Purri, thankfully, vacated her lap position onto the table a split-second before.)
A furious zoom in on the ball as it w o b b l e s--and clicks!
Damian lets out a loud hollar! "Woooooo Timu! That was amazing! Alice and Nami are gonna be blown away!"
Even Purrloin is letting out a loud "Purrloin!" in support.
<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.
The excitement of catching is infectious! There's even a few non-plussed standers-by whom applaud gently, if only because many of them aren't fully aware of the shapes and sizes these Visitors come in. Timu cheers one more time like she made a key play in Blitzball, before settling down back to her table where she sets the Pokeball down in front of Fuecoco.
As the seconds pass, Timu sobers a little in thought, realizing what Fuecoco might be signaling.
"...It really is getting late, isn't it," she has a laugh. "Okay... let's get you rest back inside the ball, Fuecoco," she says as she digs out her partner's spherical home in which to draw them back in. "We've had a day, haven't we..."
She takes in another breath, looking to Damian as she lids her eyes, stretches her arms up, and out. "...If it's all right, can you show me to the Center? I really should turn in, and... make sure the new Pokemon is okay."
A Center impressed upon her that you usually should take a newly caught wild Pokemon to a Center, as most of the time they're already tuckered out from battle. Even if she appeared to just catch a fresh one right out of the air!
<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.
After letting out a few more whoops and hollars--this might be the most loud and energetic Damian's ever been--he sits down in his chair again to watch through the video one more time, admiring that jump and throw. A few taps on his phone and...
> Share
> Alice, Nami
> hey guys heck out what Timu just did!
> Send
There.
Damian nods at it getting late. "Y-yeah... I can show you, sure. G-getting him to a Pokemon Center is a good idea. You should have them check Fuecoco, too."
"T-two pokemon in one day... Looks like you're on your way, Timu!"