Behind Every Monster Is a Person in a Cute Costume: Let's Play Moemon Leafgreen!

[Penguinator]

I can't be the only one who reads this...

[Domochevsky]

You aren't. Most of us just marvel in silence at this piece of cuteness. :o

[Deme]

I'd like to add that marveling in silence is not useful feedback, since it's impossible to tell when someone's doing it over the internet.

[Domochevsky]

You can. It's called "Views".

There's only so much one can comment on for every given update. Which is quite unfortunate, given how LPs generally strive off of comments. :|

[Deme]

Views don't differentiate well enough. The "view" could be anything. A casual glance and then boredom, a gathering of hate for Pokemon LPs, a read-through where they say "OK," to themselves, a readthrough where they say "awesome" to themselves, someone who just wants to look at the pretty pictures, someone who just wants to imagine the moemon doing dirty things, someone who wants to take over the world by implanting mind-control viruses into the computers of everyone who reads this, and so on. It could be one person reading multiple times, even.

...Maybe I should put a question about something after each chapter, or at least the ones without a vote (this one doesn't really have a vote, since my only real option is Ekans). I'm not sure what, but it'll be good for the bits I find kind of fiddly. This is very different writing than the sort I feel confident in.

edit: Oh, and chapter will be up probably tommorow morning. I have a paper for one of my summer classes due tonight.

[Deme]

OK, so apparently I lied. I looked over the chapter I had and I realzed that it seemed pretty long, so I'm going to cut it, get the part I have up, and add the remainder to the next chapter.

Chapter 13: The Chapter Used Triskaidekaphobia! It's super-effective!

Spoiler

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But before I go that way, I have a pokemon to catch.

"...Wait, that's it? No discussion, no banter, just...catch and we're done here?
"She expects banter?"
"She's special."
"...Ah. Well, I'm not in a talkative mood -- miss human can banter to herself."
"You will not speak of our mistress this way."
"It's OK, Azula. No need to get upset. She can just wait in the box."
And so she did.

Back on track.

"Beau? How did you get through the mountain without the Rockets stopping you?"
Beau: "Those guys? They were a piece of cake," he says with his usual flippant smile, turning his head a little to try and pose. Then he pauses and looks at me, cautiously, out of the corner of his eyes. "...Why? You didn't seriously let them bother you, did you?"
"I'm. Fine. How about you?"

Beau: "They're really nothing like your team of dunces." Another glance, brown eyes flashing over me. "But who knows? Maybe you've improved."
"I beat you before, and I'll do it again."



"So, your pidgey evolved too, huh?"
"Give it up, sweetie -- you're no match for my lightning!"
Of course, even taking the time out to warm ChuChu up with some doubleteaming (which, as it turned out, was pretty useful in helping her dodge a few quick-attacks), that's very much true.



Rattata vs FISTICUFFS. I'd be lying if I said it was a hard match -- it's over before I even blink. There was a moment of little fear when I saw how much damage that quick attack could do per hit (Enough to make me worry about her ability to withstand three of them), but in the end...

It was a one-hit fight. FISTICUFFS pumps the air.

Beau:"You know... Something's changed about you since we started this."
I look at him. Then I realize -- he's just trying to throw me off my game. My brow furrowe and my heels dig into the earth. I prepare my next pokemon.


Ooh, an abra. Abras...are pretty cute like this, if I do say so myself. It blinks its sleepy eyes, never taking it more than half-open. It rubs them and looks at Spike.
Beau's Abra: "...I don't wanna fight. Wake me up later."

Beau: "What are you doing? Stop goofing off!"

I laugh.
Beau: "Shut up, Seed! I just caught her, OK? She doesn't know how to do anything else!"
"Keep trying, kid."



Now here's the final one -- the match for all the marbles. ChuChu's in bad shape.
But she's still our best bet. She just has to win as fast as she can.

But her first attack wasn't as strong as I thought it would be. The first retaliation wasn't as bad, either, but I don't want to risk it. It's time to use a potion.
With a little help from that, we’re able to even things up. It takes two more rounds. They are risky rounds. If it took one more, I would have needed another potion -- maybe I should have used one of my new superpotions to start with.
But, in the end...


"I told you I could beat you! It was no good trying to change the subject midway!"

Beau: "Besides, I meant what I've said. I always figured you'd just putter around like all the bug catchers out there -- a sort of lass plus, if you will. You've really surprised me." :smallblush:
:smallblush:
Beau coughs into his hand and looks away, then bursts out with,
Beau:"Um, Anyway..."

I laugh nervously.

Beau: "Though I think maybe the emphasis has to be on the maniac bit. It's like he can't think about anything else."
Sometimes I think that's the way everyone is.

Beau: "Maybe a pretty girl will snap him out of his work..." His eyes darted away again, and then he laughed. "But I guess you'll have to do!"


And then he walks off. He's always walking away. He pauses every couple of steps and looks back at me once. I think I hear voices from his pokeballs, but I can't make them out.

Beau's Squirtle: "(You're never gonna do it, huh, boss?)"
Beau's Pidgeotto: "(Poor guy...He'll never have the guts. And after he went to Bill to pick it out...)"
Beau's shoulders stiffen.

Then, a half-second later, he turns around and walks back.

Beau:"I feel sorry for you."
"Oh, shut up!"
Beau:"...No, really." I still glare at him.
Beau:”I mean… You're always plodding along behind me."
"I... I don't want your pity."
Beau: "Just take it, OK?"
It's some wierd gizmo.


So he gave me a present to show how little he cares about others? I almost start laughing again, but hold it in.

Then he saunters off, and I finally laugh.
"What a messed up world we live in."
”…I suppose that’s a way to describe it…How odd.”
“Hm?”
”Nothing, Mistress. Just pondering something.”


"And if I..." I stop myself before I finish asking what would happen if I didn't want to battle for a fabulous prize. "This is a racket, isn't it?"
Bug Catcher: "It's not a racket! We just want to get stronger, and can't think of a better way to train!"
"That doesn't mean that what you're doing is fair!" Lots of people say they are strong, or want to be strong... "You don't have to erect a battle-toll bridge to find people to train against!"
Bug Catcher: "Shut up! I'm battling you, so it works!"
I'd do an action-packed recap of the battle, but...He was a bug-catcher. He caught bugs. There are only so many bugs in this region, ergo, this fight? Really predictable.

"You’re oddly chipper about this."

"...Listen, go train against wild pokemon like everyone else. Maybe catch a few, OK?"


"Why all this? who's responsible?"
She didn't say; the fight just started.


Less predictable, but no harder.

I hate that question.


"Let me guess -- you want to be strong, too?"
Youngster: "Not really. I have to fight to be a part of this group, but I'm just here to spread the good word about shorts."

The Ekans takes a little longer, since I have neither criticals nor super effictiveness on my side. But he’s still lying. It’s really easy.



"Yes! I'm tired of running into crooks, rackets, con-men, and cultists everywhere I go!"

But I am not tired of fights being this easy yet.

Or that.

A matched set. How cute. But cute does not win battles.


"If you're #5, you're the boss, right? If I beat you, I don't want your lousy prize -- I want you to train your pokemon nobly, by pacing around until you find a person or pokemon to fight like everyone else!"
Camper: "Oh, I'm not the boss..."

I guess not. He only has one pokemon that Phoebe can take down in a single attack.

"Wooh! Go Phoebe go!"

"More like too little. Now, remember our promise."
Camper: "But the boss..."
"Screw the boss! You have Pokemon! You decide what sort of person you are with them."


"No, I crossed the public bridge. Your 'contest trainers' were in the way!"

"So, you're the boss of this scheme, huh?"

"Then this is what your scam is about! What scum, coercing these people into joining and luring in stronger trainers!"
I want to call the police, but they said they had problems with Rockets, right? So that's not an option until...

"I'm going to take down this whole racket!"
He wheedles me all through the time it takes me to draw a pokeball.

"You guys...watch way too much TV."

The Ekans fights hard; She nearly manages to take ChuChu out with her strong fangs and her poison. But in the end, ChuChu's lightning is still faster, stronger, and better.

His Zubat, on the other hand...

Is down in a single hit.
"EASY."
"Well, they can't all be as good as us, can they?" I reply, still pumped of adrenaline. I think that comment sounds like it could come by itself, anyway, but...
The Rocket Grunt stares at me for a moment, with a look of growing awe.

"Absolutely not." I didn’t know what to do, now that I had beaten him. I called the police, told him where he was, and set the bridge gang to watch him. I could stay, but… Why bother? It’s funny; we’re all kind of useless without Pokemon. If he had a gun, he would have used it already. No one has a gun if they can have a Pokemon instead, even among criminals. So he’s basically harmless right now. That’s why I didn’t stay.
Really.
…
OK, watching policemen actually work gives me flashbacks, OK? There, I said it. Same with EMTs.



Attract, huh? Seems like kind of a gimmic move to me.

There's some grass off to the side. It has caterpies, weedles, oddishes, pidgeys, and little abras.
While I was looking around, Phoebe got stronger.
"Hm. I think after battering all the caterpies with my gust, I have a new technique in mind....Should I add it to my repertoire?"

I look it over. It seems a pretty weak move for most use. It's basically like roar. It makes a pretty show of the air around Phoebe spiraling out of control, pushing anything in its path back...
"But it's not really useful to us," I explain.
"OK. Thank you for looking it over for me."


In the grass, there's also a camper who wants to fight me after seeing me beat my way through the troll bridge.


"Well, I've put a stop to their scheme now, so it's OK to cross."
I walk away feeling pretty good. Time for a little healing, and then – to catch a pokemon!

OK, now it's time for a real vote. Pokemon new to this area are Abra and Oddish, both of which are visible in this chapter.
I can't speak much for Oddish, but Abra's Kadabra form is still an impressive psychic type, so adding one of these to the team may be worth considering, if we could think of who to replace and which one to get. And a nickname, of course.

[Penguinator]

Views don't differentiate well enough. The "view" could be anything. A casual glance and then boredom, a gathering of hate for Pokemon LPs, a read-through where they say "OK," to themselves, a readthrough where they say "awesome" to themselves, someone who just wants to look at the pretty pictures, someone who just wants to imagine the moemon doing dirty things, someone who wants to take over the world by implanting mind-control viruses into the computers of everyone who reads this, and so on. It could be one person reading multiple times, even.

This is true. It just seems weird to me that this has like, nobody when PhoeKun's is so apparently popular. (Honestly, that one bores me...)

[Domochevsky]

Oh, Beau, you so awkward.

(I also like this LP better than the "grittier" one of PhoeKun, just for the record.)

That being said, Abra get! (Also a Zubat. Those two are too damn adorable. >_> )

[Penguinator]

Ah, yes. I must throw in a vote for Abra, as well.
I like the LPs where the Pokemon have personalities, and talk. (Like this one and Raistlin's, although Raistlin's is more...occasional to hear anybody other than Sir Misery.)

[Deme]

So do I. My favorite episode of the Pokemon anime was, without question, the "Island of the Giant Pokemon" episode, where the Pokemon could just hang out and have conflict and stuff, so that's definately a plus of having the pokemon be little people. Besides the fact that they're adorable and gave me an interesting starting point for the plot.

Spoiler

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I can't promise the world will stay as optimistic and light as it seems forever... In fact, I can basically promise the opposite. The world of Pokemon is a little messed up to start with. The world of Moemon is a good deal more damaged. There may be hope, there may not be: not even I know for sure the ending of this story, though I know what I'd like the ending to be.

Edit: I decided to spoiler it since it felt like I was getting ahead of myself a bit. I have a hard time keeping things secret, but I think what I talk about in the spoilered paragraph isn't too revealing. I mean, we still have several major revelations we're waiting on, and Team Rocket is only on the "let's go dig up fossils/ set up toll-recruitment bridges" level. A totally vanilla pokemon LP could promise to get at least a little more messed up from here.

[Domochevsky]

I think we're cool with that, as long as you don't drift off into outright wangst.

[PhoeKun]

Commenting on the update, because although I've been reading intently, I've been too *insert combination of chicken and stupid here* to actually comment. Well enough of that.

I'm really glad to see you continuing to update, Deme. I adore this LP. The way things are right now, you've found a wonderful blend of storytelling, quirky humor, and cuteness, and I can see a potential for it to shift any which way as your story demands. The end result is something that is both fun and intriguing, which I very much appreciate. As always, I'm looking forward to your next update when you have time for it, and from now on I'll try to be more diligent about leaving commentary. It is, after all, the lifeblood of LPs.

This is true. It just seems weird to me that this has like, nobody when PhoeKun's is so apparently popular. (Honestly, that one bores me...)

(I also like this LP better than the "grittier" one of PhoeKun, just for the record.)

With that said, this isn't cool. I'm sorry that my own attempts at being entertaining don't appeal to you guys, but I am not in the business of competing for LP attention. I would never want to detract from this LP, and if I thought for a second that starting mine up would have hurt Deme's, I never would have done it.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't deserve half the praise that gets lavished upon me, but I find these comments to be in poor taste. We're in the business of trying to bring fun to people, each trying to put our own spin on a game. I don't see how negative comparisons do anything more than hurt feelings.

[Mirrinus]

Something could be said for having the courtesy to offer praise while not putting down another at the same time. I read and enjoy both Deme's and PhoeKun's, and they're unique enough that I don't feel the need to compare the two.

That said, I vote for Oddish, because my old college housemate is a big Pokemon netbattler, and swears by Vileplume as his bread-and-butter team roleplayer in UU, so I'll do this just to honor him.

(And P.S., I actually really like Whirlwind, if only because I'm somewhat obsessed with pseudo-hazing myself. Admittedly, it has limited uses in-game compared to the competitive arena. But I do remember that one time my friend got rocked by a toxic-shuffling Pidgeot...)

[Deme]

With that said, this isn't cool. I'm sorry that my own attempts at being entertaining don't appeal to you guys, but I am not in the business of competing for LP attention. I would never want to detract from this LP, and if I thought for a second that starting mine up would have hurt Deme's, I never would have done it.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't deserve half the praise that gets lavished upon me, but I find these comments to be in poor taste. We're in the business of trying to bring fun to people, each trying to put our own spin on a game. I don't see how negative comparisons do anything more than hurt feelings.

I don't think that's quite what they meant, but I agree with you in some aspects. Your LP and mine are in very different styles; comparing them in terms of quality doesn't work. I don't think anyone who does an LP does it thinking "I need to be better than so and so." I know I don't, though I do have LPs whose awesomeness I stride to meet in my own way.

On the other hand, as for why your LP gets so much attention... I think it's obvious. Stylistically, you're doing something very different from most other LPs on this forum, of Pokemon games or otherwise. Different is exciting. People talk about things that excite them.

I'm sorry if I come across as sounding a little needy at times, by the way. I'm trying to get up on my feet as an LPer, and I guess you could say I'm still a little unsure of my footing.

[Domochevsky]

With that said, this isn't cool. I'm sorry that my own attempts at being entertaining don't appeal to you guys, but I am not in the business of competing for LP attention. I would never want to detract from this LP, and if I thought for a second that starting mine up would have hurt Deme's, I never would have done it.

...wait what?
You misunderstand. This is not a matter of "either or". This is simply a statement of grade, going "i like X Y degrees more than Z". No one said anything about "competing", since your LPs are very different in style. In fact, i like both your LPs, but that doesn't invalidate my statement that i like this one a bit better.

And no, this is not a attempt to "put something down".

Is this a case of "if you don't have praise, don't say anything at all"? Because i can do that. No point in hurting feelings here.

[PhoeKun]

...wait what?
You misunderstand. This is not a matter of "either or". This is simply a statement of grade, going "i like X Y degrees more than Z". No one said anything about "competing", since youre LPs are very different in style. In fact, i like both your LPs, but that doesn't invalidate my statement that i like this one a bit better.

And no, this is not a attempt to "put something down".

Is this a case of "if you don't have praise, don't say anything at all"? Because i can do that. No point in hurting feelings here.

I apologize. I read the conversation as discussing why this LP doesn't get as many responses as it should, and when my name came up in the context of that conversation, I filled in some blanks that evidently weren't meant to be filled and took it to mean that I and my inferior product were "in the way", so to speak. I appreciate your clarification on the matter, and I'm sorry for snapping a bit. I should have tried to restrain myself, anyway, since this is a poor place for this kind of discussion (this thread should really be more about how awesome Deme is, you know?).

I'm sorry if I come across as sounding a little needy at times, by the way. I'm trying to get up on my feet as an LPer, and I guess you could say I'm still a little unsure of my footing.

I know exactly where you're coming from. If I can help you to find that footing, even a little, then that would make me happy.

edit: Don't want to post again.

I adore Abras because they are very cute and turn into amazing engines of destruction and spoon bending. However, the act of catching one fills me with rage. Therefore, my vote is for a nice salad Oddish.

[Deme]

(this thread should really be more about how awesome Deme is, you know?).

Yes, yes it should be. Or about what pokemon I should add in next, and what to do with it. I let you guys pick these things so I still have the sort of noncontrol found in Nuzlocke "pure," and thus have an extra element of "things can go any way." If I had a vote (and I do, but only in the event of a tie will I count it), I'd say that whatever we put in, I wouldn't want to take Rya or Spike out: both of them strike me as team members I want to keep for the longest time I can. Of course, that's assuming we put what we catch in the team, as opposed to in the reserves.

Or it can be about both how awesome I am and what way the pile of pokemon should grow next. Both is good.

I know exactly where you're coming from. If I can help you to find that footing, even a little, then that would make me happy.

I appreciate it!

EDIT: I didn't notice it the first time, but there are actually two routes on the Cerulian Cape-type area, so it looks like I can catch both. The question is still what I should do with them. There are also Bellsprout, which is odd. I guess my game has both after all. But since Bellsprout has no votes, Oddish and Abra take precedent. *sigh* I keep blundering this stuff up.

[Mando Knight]

OK, now it's time for a real vote. Pokemon new to this area are Abra and Oddish, both of which are visible in this chapter.
I can't speak much for Oddish, but Abra's Kadabra form is still an impressive psychic type, so adding one of these to the team may be worth considering, if we could think of who to replace and which one to get. And a nickname, of course.

Oddish is slow, but Gloom is better than Weepinbell by virtue of no Phys/Spec split (bad as Grass is as an attack type, Poison is even worse). Kadabra, however, is awesome served on a silver spoon. Alakazam serves it on two, but that's another matter. On the other hand, Oddish and Bellsprout both do better against Misty, who is sitting by her pool, waiting for you.

[Deca]

Go Abra. His evolutions are far too awesome to not have.

[Penguinator]

With that said, this isn't cool. I'm sorry that my own attempts at being entertaining don't appeal to you guys, but I am not in the business of competing for LP attention. I would never want to detract from this LP, and if I thought for a second that starting mine up would have hurt Deme's, I never would have done it.

I apologize, PhoeKun. I didn't intend to be insulting, I just wondered where everybody was. I don't dislike your LP, and I think I made bad wording choices in my commenting.

[Deme]

Like I said in my edit, I can get both. I didn't notice it the first time I was in the area for my initial sweep, but it's actually two routes. Two routes means I can catch two pokemon.

Now, if I move the oddish to my team, it would probably replace ChuChu, since they're both good anti-Misty devices. I'm OK with it if that's what you guys want. I don't have a specific idea in mind for Oddish, but I think I know how I would write a Gloom, and it would probably evolve by the end of the chapter anyway.

Abra on my team... I don't know who it would replace. There's no longer anyone doing the job I'd like the Abra to do, so there's not a slot for her to slide into. Based on type, my best guess would be Phoebe --I really don't know how to judge the relative worth of pokemon species, but flying's core supereffictivenesses can be covered by psychic and fire.

[Mando Knight]

Nah, keep ChuChu. Figuring out who to drop for Abra is tough, though. For now, I suppose dropping Phoebe would be best, since you don't have Fly yet.

[Domochevsky]

Phoebe's kinda non-descript character-wise so far. A more pronounced Abra in her stead could be nice. Not sure. Alternatively letting the Abra sleep in storage for most of the time would work as well.

Disclaimer: Decisions are purely made on character, not actual abilities.

[Deme]

Nah, keep ChuChu. Figuring out who to drop for Abra is tough, though. For now, I suppose dropping Phoebe would be best, since you don't have Fly yet.

And when I do have Fly, she can be an HM slave for it, like I intend Mellow to be for Cut (or the oddish to be) and so on.

[Terry576]

I'd like to interrupt to say:

I love this LP. It's great. I avoided it at first, cause, y'know the premise creeped me out, but now it's awesome.

I also enjoy PhoeKun's LP, but that's because of my inherent love of Darker and Edgier.

And I wanted to make fanart of the main character and the rival after one point in the narrative.

It's the same here.

[Deme]

Dooo eet.
I've actually had it filed in my brain "Draw picture of Seed and crew (or at least Azula)" for a while now. I'll get to it eventually...

[Deme]

Chapter 14: This Title Is Cryptic

Spoiler

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I’m done with the bridge… And I run immediately into a hedge maze full of people. Trainers, all of them, I bet. The first one, a hiker, has something new:

But both that and his other pokemon put up no resistance.

Same as the next guy.
At first I wondered if the trainers here were part of the bridge scheme, but it's a lot less organized. No numbers, no prizes but money.


Youngster Joey: "But I'm hoping to start collecting phone numbers to call people for rematches one day. And to talk to them about shorts."

It’s nice to fight someone who, cultist aside, isn’t being a jerk about wanting to fight me.

My team wins our friendly match quickly.

Youngster Joey: "But one day, maybe three years from now, I will have a rattata that is in the top percent of rattata!"
"I already have one like that. But good luck."
Well, in the TopPercen, but who's counting?
Youngster Joey: "(So it's possible...Yes...I just need to find the right Rattata...)"

The next guy was less, um, visionary, but he did at least have a neat pokemon.

But everyone from here was just your standard stuff.





It's good that they're here to train normally, unlike those jerks at the bridge. You could say all you want about the people on the bridge being more memorable, but honor matters. Maybe they'll never get where they're going... But at least they have dignity.

I managed to sneak past the last guy in the hedge maze to get a little item someone dropped. Who stands between people and free stuff, really?

Secret Power? ...I'm not sure I fully understand this one, but maybe I'll keep it around and figure out what to use it for.

"Mistress, Mistress! The rest of the team has caught up to me now! Can I fight again, can I?" She grins. Rya has a lot of teeth now. Like, a lot of teeth. Her mouth is made of teeth. She’s still my Rya, though. But man. Teeth.
"Of course! I didn't train you up to sit there!"
"Yaaay!"
"All we need to do is find someone looking for a fight..." I glanced around. There was a kid up ahead. "Maybe he'll want to fight."



I guess his Ekans has noticed her extra fangyness, too.

Extra fangyness that rips right through his ekans and sandshrew.

"That's kind of wierd... Why'd you fight me if you knew you'd lose?"
Youngster: "The shorts compelled me... An unseen hand... I had a vision from the shorts! I'll be sure to go up a rank from this!"
That all sounds incredibly dirty to me.

The last girl was just an ordinary lass. After how creepy the last guy was, she came as a relief.

And a really easy match. Two great tastes that taste great together.




I’m in the middle of battling an oddish when she mumbles, just to herself,
”It would be nice to have a trainer… even if I wasn’t used for much.”
“Why’s that?” I ask. Most wild pokemon are too caught up in battle to talk like this.
”Oh, you…”
“Yeah.”
”Having a trainer means you’re safe. Well, safer.”
“Then, how about you come with me? I can’t guarantee I’ll find a use for you, but it’s a possibility.”
”Yeah, I’d like that.”
And with that, the Oddish Leafe is added to my reserves.



“Ooh, you know, we should try and catch one. I’m told that Kadabras are really excellent pokemon.” The Abra lifted her heavy head to look up at me. She lifts her head, weakly, and shrugs.
”That may be…just a myth… I think. Propaganda.”
“You think?”
”I’ve never… met a Kadabra… Have you?”
“…No,” I admit sheepishly.
”Right… Given that I can only avoid conflict… Can I be said… to be excellent?” She didn’t say it like she hates not being excellent, like she’s hurt. Her voice is slow and calm.
“I don’t know, so I’m going to try and catch you!” I throw the pokeball.
She tilts her head. She teleports just an inch or two backwards, and the ball clatters useless to the ground.

Then she looks at me and Rya for a long time… and stays where she is.
”I’m a little sleepy now… If you’re determined… I leave my fate in your hands.”
It takes another try, but this time she just dips her head and doesn’t move.


I walk back to the pokecenter to take a look over my pokemon. I don’t believe what Terra said about Kadabras just being propaganda; I want to try her out for my team.
“But whose place does she take?” I mutter.
No one steps forth. Like Helga said, I only get to take the easy way out once.
So I have to think about it. I find where the pokecenter keeps its books and look over my type advantages again. I know each pokemon’s strengths in terms of types, but the table helps me map it all out.
I stare at the answer I get.
“Phoebe… I’m sorry.”
”It’s not fair! You promised me!”
I don’t look at her, but I put a hand on her shoulder. I’m lucky the pokecenter has these sleeping rooms; in the day, they’re empty enough for me to talk to her like this.
“I know. I still want to find a way to let you be useful. I still will. I swear… But this is something I think will be really good in the long run.”
”No breaking this one, now.”
“I won’t, I won’t! We’ll think of something!”
”…This is the sort of choice that can be reversed… Not all choices are so easy…” I’m about to ask her exactly what she means by that, but that’s when I notice that she’s fallen asleep again. Or was asleep the whole time, maybe even…

As I walk up to the house, a man in a cape steps out. He sighs and runs a hand through his dark red hair. I follow his gaze skyward, where a winged figure circles overhead. It swoops down, righting itself at the last minute: this strange girl with wings of teal and gold smiles and waits for him to say something, or do something. As she settles her golden dress around her, I realize what she is.
I have never seen a dragonite as an ordinary pokemon; it takes a very rare trainer to get one to evolve, and they don’t do it in the wild as far as anyone can tell. I can’t help but stare. Who is this guy?
Then the man starts to speak, shaking his head sadly.
???: ”A month. I can buy him another month if I don’t mention this to the others… But if he doesn’t break through this to the other side by then… We’ll have to…”
The dragonite dips her head and looks away. As he begins to lean on her for support, she wraps an arm around him.
???: ”I know. I don’t like it either. But at this rate, he’s going to do something really dangerous. People aren’t meant to live halfway like this. A month is more than most who have gone as far as he has get… I hope he makes it. Or forgets. I really do.”
The flapping of her wings sends wave after wave of dust in the air, and he stops talking to cover his mouth. By the time the dust settles, they’re both too high up to hear.

“What the hell was that? What’s up with Bill? Why does everyone, everyone, have to be so gosh-darned cryptic about EVERYTHING?”
”You could, you know, open the door, check it out for yourself.”
“…Oh, yeah. But everyone still needs to stop being cryptic!”


In the center of the room… Is a pokemon. Not a little-girl-looking thing in a pokemon costume, but the sort of pokemon… That I always used to see. Am I waking up? Is this one different? I creep toward it. No one on my team is saying anything – it’s a thoughtful silence, as if judging what they’re looking at.

”...No… he’s not… In flesh, maybe, but… We are not of flesh.”

He massages his temple with one clefairy claw and squints his eyes as if the light were too bright.
“Are you…Ok?”
Bill: ”No, No, Ok’s not my name.”

“Um…” I fake a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”



“Sweet Raptor Jesus! Is the Pokemon alright…in there?”
Bill: ”Oh, it’s just some extra DNA I had lying around. I thought… If I could become a pokemon… I’d know.”
“Know what?” I get tired of leaning over and sit cross-legged on his floor. A few papers shift around from my sitting there – the floor is littered with wires and papers. I think I see a bed in the corner, but it’s half-buried under papers. I think I can see writing on the sheets.
Bill: ”The thing I don’t know now.” He raises a claw and waggles it in my face, suddenly full of a manic energy.
Bill: ”Don’t ask my what it is, because if I knew what I didn’t know I would know what I knew. I think I almost know.”
I wondered if that made sense to anyone else.
”Hm… I see.”
She sounds satisfied – now, could she explain it to me?
“OK…But it didn’t work?”
Bill: ”…No. I don’t know anymore than I knew. Something went wrong…And I can’t fix it on my own.”


“Wait, why did you use a teleporter to make yourself into a pokemon?” Well, pseudo pokemon.
Bill: ”I originally was making a Teleporter…I think.” The energy leaves him, and a ragged look settles on his face. Well, I say ‘settles,’ but from what I’ve seen, it’s more like a temporary vacation. ”I was trying to send people as energy like pokemon, but it didn’t work… Then… I realized the only way to know how they do it is to do it, but to do it I’d have to know. So… I made it into a machine for knowing.”
I sigh. In the end, my ‘everyone is cryptic’ problem is only getting worse. I can see why that strange man left with such a headache.


The desktop is cluttered with folders and strange applications with names like ‘theories of energy modification of what’ and ‘missing puzzle pieces.’ They’re arranged alphabetically, a strange bit of order in the maelstrom of chaos. All the applications are represented by big red buttons. I click on the “cell separator” button.

The fact that such a thing exists is kind of worrying. Was it his teleporter to begin with, to prevent a David Cronenberg's The Butterfree scenario? Was it his mods?

The other tube never opens. I hope he’s telling the truth about just having some spare pokemon DNA he was using.
He fistpumps the air as I approach.


I don’t know what to say. I just got curious, after a while.

“I…um… wanted to thank you. The Pokemon PC function is… very useful.”
He digs through the piles of papers (I see a brief glimmer of a fast food bag, which is also covered in a black scrawl) and digs up an envelope. He hands it to me.

“Aren’t these things expensive?” Then again, I guess I did help him out of a real tight spot…Why didn’t Beau do something? Or the red-haired man? When did this happen, exactly?

Bill: ”I don’t think they’d understand my work.” He pierces me through with a stare. His eyes have huge pouches under them. ”I don’t think I understand my work sometimes, but once I know I’ll know. I will.”
He shakes his head and seems to take a deep inward breath.

“Alright… Are you sure you’re OK? Maybe you need to take a nap.”
Bill: ”I’ve been stuck all night...Yeah … a nap sounds good.” He walks over to the mound of papers and falls onto it. Last night, huh? So Beau didn’t know about this.
As I walk out the door, I hear him mumble.
Bill: ”(There’s something… that the world… is hiding from us…)”
I think about what the red-haired man said. Whatever Bill wants to learn, he has a month. I kind of hope he makes it; he doesn’t seem like a bad guy. Just … crazy.
…Given how cryptic everyone’s being, maybe he’s right.

I step outside and lean against the door with a sigh.
“OK, Azula, spill. What was he?”
”To be honest… I do not know, Mistress. I have never seen the like of that before... But I think I know. He managed to somehow make his own body into the… the illusion we wear. The seeming that is a part of our raiments… She searched for a better word. ”Our ‘costume,’ that you have only recently begun seeing the true faces behind.”
I’d be lying if I said it made perfect sense, but I could fit it together. He made himself look like these guys only seem to look to everyone else. I can deal with that.


I glance at the man she’s with, with his arm around her shoulder. I guess she does, too. Pallet town…well, Pallet town doesn’t have date spots. N-not that there’s anyone I would like to date. Really!

”Yes, but you’re not.” I don’t say the ‘so no bright ideas,’ but I think it loudly.

…I’m fine by myself, really. It doesn’t make the water less pretty. A strong person needs to be able to be by herself. She doesn’t need to be with some jerk, even if he had nice eyes and a cool smile... Not that I’m thinking about any particular jerk. OK, I’m done thinking about not thinking about it! Really!
”The Mistress has us! She’s not alone!”
”Being human… He can’t hear you.”

I would like to add that picking out a font for Terra was annoying. Too many pokemon are shades of brown and yellow. *sigh*

[Terry576]

I'll draw the picture eventually.

Once I stop playing Touhoumon.

[Domochevsky]

Ah, difficult decisions... quite difficult indeed.

Also, sudden bout of trippieness there with the Abra and that inventor guy. Quite nice. I like her already.

(The inventor guy on the other hand... he's on to something.)

[Mirrinus]

You know, I avoided giving speech to the characters in my own LP because I was afraid it'd appear creepy somehow, but you actually make it look really cute, Deme. I like that.

I'll draw the picture eventually.

Once I stop playing Touhoumon.

Yes, it's very addicting. I've already clocked at least 5 full playthroughs myself. The fact that every character's stats are pretty much useable makes it even more tempting for me to try them out.