princelyspirit | Duel 01 // Video & Action // New Bark Town

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Duel 01 // Video & Action // New Bark Town

[A blurry splotch of white and red fills the screen, before the camera zooms out to show a Ponyta standing in an open field. It sniffs the air curiously before it faces the camera again, and trots over as a girl speaks in the background]

Hey, careful there-oof!

[The Ponyta's face fills the screen and the camera jerks around wildly, before focusing on a large, blue eye. It blinks as it zooms out again, finally revealing the owner of the pokegear: a young girl in her early teens, with an angular, heartshaped face and long, bright pink hair. The pokemon nuzzles against her, and she sighs as she strokes its nose with her free hand. Compared to a human, it appears quite small; about the size of a miniature horse. Once it settles down, the trainer turns her attention to the camera. Her brow furrows as she begins to speak]

Is anyone out there? I just got done with that professor guy, and – look. I don't know what you want us to do with these “battles”, but first of all, I don't have any time for that. I've got more important things to worry about right now than some silly game! And second...

[looks back at her Ponyta] Even if I was interested, these guys don't really look like fighting material to me. Maybe if they were bigger, or stronger, or....huh?

[Pauses, and blinks while Ponyta moves away – there's a rustling sound as it nudges the bag off-camera. She sighs, and the camera jerks a bit as she pulls it away from him]

...look, all I need is a way out of here. If any of you guys know something... well, I'm all ears.

[and off goes the transmission]

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[The image that comes up is very dark. The only reason that Apollo's face can be seen at all is because of the light coming from the PokéGear's screen and the faint firelight coming from somewhere off-camera, presumably from some sort of torch, since he seems to be walking. Also his eyes are glowing red.]

If you can avoid the animals on the routes you won't have to fight, but there are so many that even I can't avoid them all. Since you can't eat them there's no reason to go after them. A lot of the animals here like to fight, but if they don't you shouldn't try and make them.

If you train they tend to level up and evolve? Since it's the starting area everything is very low level.

[ Eri tried asking that question before and had her hopes crushed. No save points or portals out of here sadly.] No one knows of a way out, if you do leave it's random?

[So while Albert's stuck in New Bark waiting for his ride, he's just sort of idling around getting a feel for the local landscape (and pretty much loathing every minute of it) — which is how he ends up spotting the pink-haired girl and her companion in the first place.

And pauses to observe, because, y'know, there's a lot to stare at, frankly.]

You are aware that your horse is on fire.

Low level? You make this place sound like some kind of video game...

[Shakes her head] But what do you mean, "it's random"? I mean, if people can leave, that means there has to be some way out, right?

[...aaaand now she's talking to a man with glowing red eyes. Her eyes widen in surprise as she watches his response, but she forces herself to listen to his advice. One thing at a time, one thing at a time... by the time she replies back, she's composed. Sort of. Or at least, as composed as someone dropped in a bizarre new world can be]

Don't worry, I don't plan on fighting any more than I have to, trust me. But... where are we supposed to go from here? I really don't want to be stuck in this place any more than I have to be.

[Does she mean New Bark Town or Johto? Who knows! It could be both]

Edited 2012-07-24 21:04 (UTC)

It's the best way to explain things? Instead of leveling up your self you level up your pokemon.

I know really know... I was told that some people vanish and get to go home, but there's no way to set it off or know when it will happen.

[Looks up, jostled out of her thoughts by the newcomer. The fire... horse... thing looks up as well, mimicking his partner. She straightens up immediately, now calm and composed.]

It's not on fire, at least, not really. It's...

[She puts her hand through the mane as a demonstration, but trails off as she realizes she doesn't have a better explanation. Utena pulls back her hand immediately and tries to play it cool]

Okay, so I don't what it is. But I don't think it's a horse, either. It's actually a- here, I'll show you.

[fiddles with the pokedex for a minute and points it at the ponyta. Soon, a loud, computerized voice speaks]

Ponyta, the Fire Horse pokemon. It is a weak runner immediately after birth, but it gradually becomes faster by chasing after its parents. Its hind legs, which have hooves that are harder than diamond, kick back at any presence it senses behind it.

[There's a small pause, before she clears her throat]

...what the cell phone said.

[Okay, so that still sounded pretty crazy. Utena scratches the back of her head, before she looks back up at the old guy talking to her]

But what about you? I mean, what kind of Pokemon did you get stuck with?

[This place is just getting better and better. Utena's still not convinced that there isn't a way out, but the other girl seems almost as clueless about it as she is. Oh well.]

So, it really is random... But why are we even here, anyways? I mean, why would someone drag a bunch of people out of their homes just so they could fight each other?

Edited 2012-07-24 22:21 (UTC)

[The thing with Albert Rosenfield is, he's generally not inclined to give the vast majority of people the time of day, and particularly not teenagers. By all rights, he'd probably only intended to stop long enough to make some cutting remark about the girl's hair color and incendiary companion, and then be on his way while he waited for his ride to arrive.

Except that then something he admittedly wasn't expecting happened:

> She parried the jab without losing her temper
> She demonstrated a prior actual attempt to investigate the phenomenon outside of "oooh, I have a pony and it is on fire!"
> She admitted her own ignorance without attempting to justify it
> And then she sought out more information from the closest thing she had to a reliable corroborating source

...Color him actually mildly surprised. Apparently this one can think, despite the bad dye job.]

Hooves that are harder than diamond? Now that's worth a test. I don't suppose you're engaged.

[It's mostly dry sarcasm, that last remark — though he wouldn't put it past a teenager to be jumping into matrimony by any means, he also hasn't spotted any diamonds on her fingers.]

I got a dog. Does that make you a horse person?

[Oh haha you are just so funny. Utena rolls her eyes at his snarky comments, before she stretches her arms and straightens up her bag - they aren't going to get anywhere by complaining about it.

...though, if he cares to notice, she does have an engagement ring of sorts, even if it does lack the diamond]

It wasn't exactly my choice, you know. They just shoved a ball in my hands and pushed me out of the way - I didn't even get a chance to ask what was going on around here. And don't even get me started on that weird professor guy, he just kept saying the same thing over and over again.

[Sighs, and places her hand on her Ponyta's head. While she speaks, she begins looking around for that dog he mentioned - is it outside somewhere, or is it in one of those pokeballs? Nevermind how they managed to stuff live animals in a tiny ball, she's just going to focus on one mystery at a time]

Then I tried that weird cellphone they gave us, but I haven't had much luck yet. But what about you? Do you know anything about this place?

Unfortunately, I think you'll just have to make do for the time being.

[He'll notice simply because noticing details is part of what he does, but whether or not he remarks on it is another story. That comes from a combination of working in a job where you don't just go handing out your information like candy to any person who knocks on your door, and working in a job where he's frequently surrounded by informants who don't talk back, thanks to the rather relevant complication of being dead.

Still, he's willing to give this girl credit for the moment, even if it's only marginally so. She's apparently not stupid. Hopefully that initial impression will pan out beyond the initial impression.]

Sounds about like Mom's spiel. Everybody's got the same script and nobody's got any answers.

[He's still silently examining the horse at the moment; his Poochyena, meanwhile, chooses that moment to make her reappearance, bounding happily over from the nearest clump of trees with a stick in her teeth and a proud tilt to her head.]

You keep trying that gadget out and eventually people will turn up to play welcome wagon. Some of the stuff they say is useful; most of it isn't.

Good.

I haven't heard anyone say there's a way home. I've been here for three lunar cycles and there were already people here for a long time before I came. I know people sometimes disappear and go back home, so I guess everyone has to just wait until whenever that happens.

[takes a deep breath] I know, I know. I all ready heard that there's no way out, but... It just seems so impossible. I mean, what's stopping us from getting out of this place, anyway?

[Seems like someone didn't get the memo about this being a whole new world...]

[Ponyta stares right back at Rosenfield, and sniffs the air around him as he takes a step towards him. Before he can get any further, though, Utena holds her hand up, and he stops in his tracks.]

Got it - and I'll try looking around at what other people have to say, too. Though...

[She was about to say something about how it's not like any gadget she's seen, when she notices the Poochyena. Huh, cute dog. Kind of weird, but cute. She's about to get back on track, when she has an idea]

Hey, do you mind if I try something real quick? It'll only take a second, I promise.

[Well, he's not really a horse person any more than he is a dog person (which isn't a whole lot), but despite being biologically implausible and also on fire, he holds his ground and keeps watching it.

Though the question earns Utena an inquisitive look — not quite to the point of being interested, but less exasperated than he's been with most of the other people he's met thus far.]

Depends on what you want to try.

[...huh, he has a funny way of talking. The way he speaks makes him sound kind of like the outdoorsy, live-off-the-land survivalist types, like the kind you only see on TV or movies or read about in books. Then again, considering what he had to say about animals earlier... well, it probably isn't that out there]

Sorry, but even if there isn't an easy way out, I'm not just going to sit around and let us be let out, either. If nobody knows how to get out of this place, does anyone at least know who brought us here?

[When you gaze long into the pokemon, the pokemon also gazes into you. Or at least, he does until Albert looks up at Utena. Now that his staring match is over, he sniffs at the Poochyena's general direction. Meanwhile, Utena holds up her gear with a confident smile]

The same thing I did with Ponyta a minute ago. It looks like these things can tell us more about where we're at... or at least, more about our pokemon. The more we can find out, the better, right?

Edited 2012-07-25 04:59 (UTC)

[And then suddenly the flaming horse was named Abyss — which, despite being ridiculous, is still not as bad as the name of the Poochyena that Albert refuses to say.

Moving on.

...Well, that seems like a reasonable enough idea. And, you know, he's still mostly so intrigued by the fact that this is apparently a highschooler who is not a complete moron that he's willing to give this relatively harmless idea a shot.

(He did, in fact, find the Dex function on his own yesterday, but it's not going to stop him from watching her work it out herself.)]

All right, I'm game. Give it a shot if you want.

[As he sidesteps a little away from his dog to give Utena a better shot at her with the Dex.]

[Nods, takes aim, and presses the same buttons she did before. It's not long before that tinny, robotic voice comes back on...]

Poochyena, the Bite Pokemon. A Pokémon with a persistent nature, it chases its chosen prey until the prey becomes exhausted. However, it turns tail if the prey strikes back.

...well, that's that, I guess. Though-

[blinks, and looks closer at her phone]

...huh, I didn't notice that before.

[flips through the Dex, like someone flipping through an address book on their phone]

I just noticed a number next to its name, and a whole mess of blank numbers, too... Hey, didn't the guy in the labcoat say something about filling this thing up?

[...Okay, so basically he can never let Cooper point the Dex at his dog or he will never hear the end of it.

Unfortunately for Utena's current line of deduction, Albert got a slightly different spiel, being a breeder and not a trainer.]

Not to me. I got some story about eggs.

[Which makes no sense, because mammals don't lay eggs.]

I wouldn't put too much faith in what the local yokels say is so around here.

Eggs? That's kind of-

[Is about to say "weird", until she remembered that this afternoon was spent bonding with a miniature, flaming horse. Weird is kind of relative around here]

...nevermind. But still, what they have to say is better than nothing. I mean, we don't have anything else to go off of, except for the Gear and that book they gave us.

[holds up the Gear again, before stuffing it into her standard issue, obnoxiously yellow backpack. She checks around for a moment to make sure everything is in order, before she slings it back over her shoulders.]

Oh, if you're worried about them being bigger and stronger, that should happen over time as you raise them!

... though I can definitely understand the hesitation.

We all have important reasons to leave. The problem is that in order to get out, we first have to figure out how we got in.

[Twilight sighs and leans back into her chair.] And that we just can't seem to do.

Edited 2012-07-25 10:04 (UTC)

So you didn't run into anyone you know.

[Because that would be another source to go off of, and probably one that's more trustworthy than just whatever the local line is. At least in Albert's opinion.

But then, he's fortunate enough to have such a source already here.]

What's your name?

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Duel 01 // Video & Action // New Bark Town

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