second snap - text/action for goldenrod

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

[ Oh hey, it's a text from Prompto - made pretty quickly after the Silph Co bulletin. ]

I guess you guys saw that thing from Silph? IDK about that but I got one of their prototypes when I arrived. I don't know about all this designer baby thing though, it sounds really cruel. I mean they're alive, not some sort of twisted experiment. Well, they are.

And besides why did they call them something like Type: Null? If they made another Pokemon they could have chosen a super cool name, or even one like Porygon and not an insult to these guys. Anima's a good boy, even if he doesn't like battling - but there's other Pokemon like that.

Aaanyway, if you have any questions about Nulls ask me and not Silph Co.? I think taking some on is a good idea, try and show them what it's like to not be kept by that company?

also where do you get porygon

[ Attached are like... lots of pictures of his Null, Anima, mostly ones of him having fun and playing - even if it's clear that in the sun, the Null seems to be very uncomfortable. And tellingly, there's no shots of the Null in-battle.

Though the day, Prompto is near the Pokemon Center with his Null - keeping the chimera close, trying to keep his nerves down. Why... him? ]

Comments

[lordofthefries]

[Sure, Sasha heard the announcement, but she pretty much tuned out once they said she needed six badges for a Null. She doesn't even have one badge. Heck, she doesn't even know what the word synthetic means, so really, any excitement over the new technology is lost on her.]

idk? prototype? whats wrong with the name? i dont know what a porygon is.

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

prototype, like - they're making life and then just giving it to ppl?
and those guys mentioned they made a pokemon called porygon and i want one, might help me figure out how to help my starter.

[lordofthefries]

people make pokemon? but i thought pokemon were just really weird versions of regular animals all this time. i wonder how you make one.

but what does idk mean? does that have to do with your null?

here comes grandpa to shit it all up

[meteorman]

I think you're reading a lot of ill intent into this that isn't actually there. A synthetic Pokemon whose type can be chosen is an incredible innovation and a vast improvement over Porygon, though Porygon is a marvel in its own right.

My point is that there's nothing cruel about changing a few lines of code, nor is there anything insulting about giving the resulting Pokemon a name that reflects such a unique and astounding feature.

t-thanks gramps

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

i think it's pretty insulting, like - what if you were called null, huh? full of nothing? anima isn't just an experiment, he's a good boy even if he doesn't like the sun and sometimes coughs up black stuff and freezes up in battle, he's not null at all.

why do they need to make their own pokemon anyway there's plenty of good ones not made by people

[meteorman]

[Oh, kid, you're talking to the wrong old man here.]

Why? Why not! Pokemon are one of the greatest mysteries of this particular universe; despite them existing here for as long as record states, relatively little is actually known about them. What better way to study them than by attempting to recreate a similar life-form in a safe and controlled environment, and then allowing experienced trainers to observe them? Your Anima can be a good boy AND an experiment and both are to his credit.

Every universe was full of nothing before it was full of something. Null is POSSIBILITY. Presumably this is why Silph would like them housed with trainers, to give them the opportunity to live their lives as though they were not manufactured in the first place, while also gathering the data needed to improve on their design and make life easier for each new generation produced. It's actually a fairly elegant and humane system.

[Text]

[cyan_maid]

I don't know much about naming an apparently synthetic species, but I certainly don't oppose the idea of taking one of those dears in!
No matter what, a Pokemon is a Pokemon, and it's probably happier living outside of a lab than inside.
The way they described it IS a little creepy, though...

[Text]

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

neither do i rly but i'd say everybody gotta take one in if they'll let go of em (bad or not i dont think it'd be wise to break them out)

i mean who'd wanna grow up in a lab?

and right?? creepy and it just feels wrong, like... i dont like it.
sounds waaaay too sci-fi dystopia, yknow?

[Text]

[cyan_maid]

I think breaking them out would be more Team Rocket's MO, to be perfectly honest.
If it looks like it's worth something, they'll go for it.
But I'm happy to go through whatever red tape necessary to give a poor dear a nice new home.

Hm, it DOES seem like one of those, doesn't it?
I'm nowhere near an expert on the genre, but it has that feel to it.

[Action]

[thenightsky]

As soon as Noctis saw the announcement, he'd asked the owner of the restaurant he'd been working in since they arrived in Goldenrod if he could cut his shift short. The man had been alright with it so the Prince had darted off once he'd finished what he was working on, heading for the Pokemon Center since he knew that's where Prompto had been picking up shifts.

A synthetic Pokemon..made in a lab. That explained so much about Nu--about Anima.

When he arrived at the Center it was with Shepard and Bean in tow, both Pokemon looking uncharacteristically serious..thoughtful. It was a mix of those two. It wasn't hard to find the blonde and Noctis immediately slowed his pace so he wasn't barreling at the other, making his way over to where his boyfriend was seated with his Null.

"...Hey."

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

Of course, Prompto was expecting to see Noctis - though not this early. Honestly, he had hoped he could clean up - slight anger still flickering in his eyes, as Anima noticed Noctis first - giving a gentle growl. It was so rare that the Pokemon talked, even if he'd been becoming braver. It took Prompto a moment to look up from his phone, but when he did, there was no smile on his lips - even if Prompto wanted to, he couldn't.

"Hey, Noct. You saw it too?" he asked - standing up and giving the other trainer and Pokemon a slight nod... and offering out a few scraps to Bean.

[thenightsky]

"Yeah, I saw it," he murmured in reply, stopping in front of his boyfriend as Bean accepted the scraps...and then promptly sat down so she could offer some to Null and Shepard both. Said Lycanroc let out a quiet rumble to Null, head tilted as her ears laid flat against her head.

Worried? That was an understatement.

"You guys alright?" Noctis asked, hesitating for a moment before he reached out to rest a hand on Prompto's shoulder. "No one's bothered you since the announcement or anything, right?"

text

[thedifferencebetween]

Excuse you, Null is a friggin badass name!

Do you know what a null symbol is in computer programming? Yeah I'm guessing not. It's a stupidly important symbol with a bunch of different uses that can do all kinds of stuff. Combine it the right way with other symbols, put it up against them, so to speak...it neutralizes them. Or it can be even more powerful. Huh. That...wow! That almost sounds like it could make sense in terms of Pokemon! It's almost like someone knew what a null symbol was and went 'hey, look, this Pokemon does the same thing!'. But I'm sure your reading of it is the right one, yeah, the team working on these guys just picked the most obscure word for 'nothing' they could.

Nulls are named after something important and powerful, trust me here.

text

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

i really dont know, this world doesnt seem that deep

like, it seems like it's for kids instead of grownups :/ when i first came here i thought it was like
a videogame
and it still seems rly gamey to me but in that messed up way that ppl dont notice as kids but they still write it for kids so they gotta keep the seedy underground hidden

text

[thedifferencebetween]

Seriously? Look at how Pokemon are named. You really think it's a coincidence?

Most seedy undergrounds are hidden. Kinda what makes em seedy undergrounds.

Text (private!)

[rambling_runner]

The thing that gets me is...they didn't have a cap on the number of 'Beta Testers' they needed. They're just gonna make them FOR whoever asks for one; 'made to order' they said, right? So they'll make tons of em; you said to 'take some on' and show 'em life outside a lab, but they're being made when people ask for one. If nobody asked for any, they wouldn't make em.

They shouldn't make them either way if they got problems and it means they're gonna suffer or be in pain. Fucking around with nature it a thing but with Pokemon, they're sentient - they can think and feel and understand shit. It's like purebred dogs, where they get super fucked up and deformed because of inbreeding.

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

[ Prompto will go private as well. ]

yeah, exactly - like, if they even said like 'hey we have one of each type' it'd be
well, not better
but then it wouldn't be as bad
they might have made like ones who are even more hurt under their cute fluff and feathers?

but like, if nobody takes them, they might end up being used by silph. and that'd be worse bcuz if they even make them what might they do? idk but i gotta keep anima away from em from now on

[text]

[captainash]

The way they were talking about the poor things, you'd think they'd created a new model of mobile suit, not a living creature.

[Wait, weren't the Vagans- stopping that train of thought right there.]

What can you tell me about their moveset and talents? I can trade a Porygon egg for the info, if you'd rather not spend weeks gambling to earn one the normal way.

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

mobile suits-- something from ur world? but yeah anima is a living thing and a good pokemon, not some sort of weird robot designer pet thing

that'd be rly neat! (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ are u a breeder or do u just have pokemon who're
you know
willing

so! anima is only level 30 - he isn't the best at battling so we've been taking it easy. he's a pure normal-type, and his current moves are:

tackle, rage, pursuit, imprison, aerial ace, crush claw, and scary face.

oh and i taught him return from a TM as well - after i fight whitney im gonna buy him some more, i shouldnt just spoil my mimikyu (even if fratre is rly cute as well). he's a bit slow even when he battles, but his defenses and attack seem balanced? oh and that helmet is stuck on there, i've tried to pull it off a few times

[text]

[kissmyaspis]

I don't like it. Corporations like that? Pulling dubious experiments like making living creatures?
It never goes well.

[Sure this doesn't seem like it's on the level of anything Atlas or Hyperion have done... but it's only a matter of time. People get the taste of creating life, the power to change living beings however they wish... it corrupts them.]

Not just for them. There's only so much time you can spend breeding and grooming something for a specific purpose before it begins to rebel against that purpose.

[text]

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

[ It's almost sad Prompto doesn't know his own future, but his texting is quick. Especially when he thinks about... Noctis. ]

theyre gonna make 'em with or without us and its quite disturbing? you know?

you think anybody'd rebel? i think so too tbh - if theres a chance to escape, why not take it and live a normal life away from everything

[text; private]

[faintwaves]

I don't like it. I really don't. People like that don't just make something for no reason, it's for a purpose, like they were meant to combat something else or infiltrate.

And the name, "Null."

To "null" something means that it failed, in my experience. It didn't do what it was made for. So why are they making these and having people test them out?

[She remembers being made, No. I used to be her name, the imaginary number. They changed it to Xion to match the rest of the Nobodies. Why would something be named Null if it was just created?]

...I remember Anima from the party. He's a good boy.

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

[ Oh - a private one? Prompto responds in kind, but seems to be slow. Don't mind him. ]

maybe they wanna take us out, if anything
bcuz we're not from here even if here is awesome
or maybe a TR fighting machine

but anima wouldnt do that either, hes a very good boy and not a failure. hes doing better now as well except for you know he understood the announcement and is crying a lot and also being a bit bitey

[pipers_son]

it could be ill intent or they are just a bunch of bookworms who don't know what theyre saying is bleeding inappropriate
never know with those types
anyway how has yours been doing

[sunnysidewalkstreet]

i really hope its the latter

but anima has been rly good
recently he even beat a pokemon all by himself

(well i think they were going easy on him but still he took down damien!! but damien is pretty distracted by goldenrod

damien is my yamask btw)