parkour | 002 ♞ Video

[Izaya is abrupt when he turns the feed on. His smile is bright, cheerful - harmless, even.]

Johto is always so interesting. So many people coming and going - town to town, route to route. Seeking out challenges, gyms, trainers. Really, there's never a dull moment!

Curiouser and curiouser though...

[His eyes narrow slightly and his grin twists. It's colder, more calculated. Those who've dealt with Izaya extensively in the past may recognize this from when he's questioned things in the past.]

Yet the Gym Leaders, no matter how human they seem are completely inhuman. No matter how many battles they win or lose, their Pokémon remain at the same level. They say nearly the same thing to each trainer. I recall this with Whitney-chan and her crocodile tears... but Falkner-kun too.

Really, it's all the same in every town.

Doesn't it make you wonder, Johto? Just who's real and who isn't? Are we, the captive, the only real ones?

And what about the ones who brought us here? Professor Elm? Oak? The Elite Four? The Champion? Team Rocket?

So many possibilities and yet... so few answers. And yet he we go, day-to-day without much of a thought or care for it. It never ceases to be interesting, really!

[He lets out a laugh, followed by a calm breath. With a blink, that bright, much warmer smile reappears on his face and he changes the topic without a hitch.]

Really, I just had a favor to ask! You see, I'd really like to get back to my own Johto routines, but doing that as it stands right now means I need to go through a whole lot of needless work for the second time around. I know there are plenty here with a Plain Badge and a squirt bottle, so if someone would kindly assist me in moving it, I'd pay well as a token of gratitude.

[And then Izaya cocks his head to the side, giving his most genuine n_n before cutting the feed entirely. Now? Now he waits.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If we're considering ourselves stuck in an 8-bit game, then yeah--- NPCs work. Strange how detailed they are when you actually see them though.

It has to be believable, doesn't it?

It's a little too believable, in my opinion.

It seems they were hoping we wouldn't catch on!

Then they wouldn't have to get anyone from places that actually know Pokémon exist--- even in video games.

A series of miscalculation, maybe? Or they're just playing mind games with us!

It sounds pretty bizarre if it's just mind games. A miscalculation sounds more plausible.

It's not as if "bizarre" wouldn't fit well with Johto's themes, though I'm also more inclined to think it was the former.

Well... you've got a point there. Personally, I'd prefer the latter, but I probably wouldn't be surprised either way.

Of course, of course. But what we prefer and the reality are often different enoug. It's pretty difficult to tell, in any case.

That's true. I mean, this place itself is a proof of that. I'm surprised people don't make a bigger fuss of things than what they do.

Some do - but the nature of most people is to try and remain calm - to take things in as much stride as they can for situations they can't do much to change on their own. Even if they consciously complain, survival instincts seem to steer them otherwise.

I'm not really sure I'd consider it a matter of survival instincts, really. [...] I guess it's more of a sense of having to calm down because there's nothing to be done?

Being brought to a new, unfamiliar world entirely - one that has only few parallels to the ones they've always known - will often cause your survival mode to kick in. Even if it doesn't seem that way! It's very easy for that to meld with a sense of calm, especially over the course of time.

But knowing there's little you can do is a bit different than knowing that you have to survive, despite the threat of strange monsters and the minimal supplies you're given upon arrival, hm?

Well... I guess that's one way of seeing it. I mean, I don't know about you, but given this place has cities and money's a lot easier to come by than expected... I wouldn't really call it a need to survive. Besides, with the pokémon, we're not exactly the ones doing the combat either.

That's what makes it more of a subconscious situation than a conscious one, of course.

... What do you mean?

Consciously, you're aware - you have money, a way to find shelter, and a form of protection.

[A pause, and a chuckle.] But then there's also the underlying factors: Johto's odd occurrences, the never knowing when you'll leave, if you'll remember it... what may happen next!

It's not very conventional, but there is an aspect of survival instinct in place.

[...]

You sure like to make things sound more complicated than they should be. [Not that he should be one to talk, given how he reacted during his arrival.] Though you do have a point.

It's not me making it sound that way - I'm just pointing out what's already there!

Most people wouldn't think of it that way, though. I mean, that's pretty much reading into the situation.

I know, I know. Sometimes a reminder needs to go around that everything isn't as simple as what you see on the surface. [A harmless laugh.] I think that applies to many situations in Johto.

It's not that simple, but then there's no need to make things sound more complicated either. It's not really going to change the situation much.

I never said it would! Whether or not it has an effect on the situation doesn't matter much when you're just pointing out observations.

I guess so. It takes an effect on how some people deal with a situation though.

002 ♞ Video

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