Video;

[schachmeister]

[The video opens to the view of water, the deck of a boat, and Armin, loosely holding a pokemon egg on his lap.]

Hello. This might end up a little long, but I hope you will bear with me.

I'm not sure how many of you know who Mr Newt Scamander is-- was. For those who don't, he was in this world for nearly a year, though he was sent home about a month or three ago. He was incredible with animals, any kind of animals really. He had a cottage near Azalea where he'd take care of wild and injured pokemon. He told me that back in his own world he took care of magical creatures and was writing a book about them.

[Armin's voice is warm and admiring as he talks about Mr Newt. Clearly, he was an important person to him.]

The reason I bring him up is because while he was here, Mr Newt started a project. A breeding project to be exact. What he wanted to do was find a way to help boost the dwindling population of Lapras out in the wild. And in order to do that, he set up a breeding pod. I'm sure he would've been successful but he was sent home before he had a chance to really make headway with the project. And after he went home, his breeding pod went to me.

I'm not a breeder. I never really had any ambitions in this direction. But I'd like to work on completing with Mr Newt start. Lapras are incredible ocean pokemon, and I think people in the future should still be able to see one in the wild. Plus, they play a role in their respective ecosystems, and it is hard to predict what kind of effect it will have when they completely disappear.

So that brings me to two questions.

First, I'm trying to track down the heritage of the individuals that currently live in the pod. I know three of the youngest members were bred from the older members of the group, but that still leaves me with five individuals whose heritage I don't currently know. If anyone remembers selling a Lapras egg, or trading a Lapras to Mr Newt, or even remembers him mentioning something about where he got them from, I'd love to know.

As for my second question -- Like I said, I want to carry out what Mr Newt started. But to do that, I think I am going to need a few more individuals to breed with. I'm not asking anyone to go out and catch them for me. That'd defy the purpose of all of this. Rather, if anyone owns a Lapras and wouldn't mind lending them out for a short period of time, so I can allow them to breed with the current members of the pod, I'd be very grateful. I have both males and females to breed with. The eggs will be hatched and raised within the pod until a time where they are ready to be released into the wild. I'm not looking for any particular natures or move-sets. Any individual would be fine.

I'm not exactly sure when I'd like to start breeding. There are a few more things I'd like to read up on first. Plus, there is the Scavenger hunt to finish. Probably no earlier than August, though it might take a bit longer than that. I'd just like to be as prepared as I can. Of course, I don't want to interfere with any personal breed or battling plans anyone might have, so I'd be willing to adjust any of my plans to what suits you best. And of course, I don't want to overwhelm the pod with too many eggs at once. The older members need to have the chance to teach the young ones everything they need to know.

That's-- That's all, I guess.

[boy, ending these things can be so awkward, can't it? Especially when you just gave what was practically a speech.]

Again, thank you.

Comments

video;

[shiro2hero]

I think that's a great idea for you, Armin.

[WOW BUDDY. DID YOU WANT THE PROUD DAD VOICE? You're getting the proud dad voice. Because he is. Both at that speech and at the idea of Armin launching forward into something like this.]

[It just seems like it would suit him. And good for him, too.]

No Lapras or anything like them on my end. But if I run into some, I'll let you know.

video;

[schachmeister]

[Jeez, Shiro, that is a lot of pride in your voice. It's a little embarrassing. He is a sensitive boy. He isn't used to all this support]

Well, I'm just trying to finish what Mr Newt started. I don't think I could've come up with this one on my own.

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[shiro2hero]

[Too bad, accept it.]

You never know. You might have. But you're going to do a great job with this, I can already tell.

video;

[schachmeister]

[Shiro's vote of confidence matters a lot.]

I certainly hope so.

[He adjusts the egg on his lap a bit.]

I bought a new Lapras egg from Cecil. So that is a bit of progress, at least.

video;

[shiro2hero]

Putting some new genes in the pool?

[... see, it's funny because they're water types. Who swim in pools.]

video;

[sassymaru]

A wonderful speech.

However, for those of us unaware of such a thing... what precisely is a... "Lapras"?

video;

[schachmeister]

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed everybody is familiar with them.

Larpas is a water/ice type pokemon. They live out on the seas and ocean. They are known for being very gentle, intelligent and mild in attitude. In fact, they got a lot of their fame for their willingness to ferry people across the water on their backs and how capable they are of understanding us.

Sadly that reputation also led to their numbers dwindling in the wild.

[And thus, this project.]

It's a bit hard to describe their appearance, but I have taken a few pictures of the ones I own if you'd like to see.

video;

[sassymaru]

It's hardly necessary to apologize -- if anything, you're doing a service.

[He bows. He seriously bows to Armin.]

Ah, I see. Friendly, intelligent creatures often are such victims. I would appreciate your pictures, should you have them.

video;

[schachmeister]

[Armin searches through his gear a bit, before sending Shadowmaru a few pictures he took while getting the pod situated in their new home.]

I took these not that long after I got them. They only just moved into their new home, so they still look a bit timid, but they've been adapting to it pretty well. There is eight of them all together.

video;

[sassymaru]

Ahhh... how lovely! The location is exquisite. And such stunning creatures as well.

How lucky are you, to be their guardian and keeper.

Video

[dreamsofahero]

Neither Ryner nor I have any lapras, but if there's anything else we could help with, certainly let me know.

Re: Video

[schachmeister]

Do you have any advice for breeding pokemon? Both of you have a lot more experience in that area than I have. Is there anything I should be on the look-out for? Or anything I can do to encourage them to breed? I obviously do not want to force them, but if there are any circumstances I could create where they'd feel most at ease, that'd help a lot, I think.

Oh, and do you know if you have any books on Lapras in your library?

Re: Video

[dreamsofahero]

Well, that depends on what you'd like to do. If there's two individuals in particular you'd like an egg from, usually simply leaving them together to their own devices for a while will suffice. Presuming they don't dislike each other, of course. Otherwise if they're all allowed to do as they please freely... Well, I imagine you've seen people talking about the results of that sort of thing.

I'd presume that having someplace they feel comfortable and safe would help, but giving them their privacy is probably most important, as all pokemon seem to be incredibly shy about it.

*he can't blame them, really*

I don't know if we have any on Lapras specifically, but I do know we have several on breeding in general, and I'm sure it's mentioned to at least some extent in some of the others.

*like books on water types, or so on*

Video

[schachmeister]

[He has seen the egg explosions and he is properly terrified of those.]

Do you think it would be helpful to separate the pair I am trying to breed from the main herd? At least for a little while? I'm sure I could find another little cove where they'd be safe and protected.

[Armin wouldn't want to produce young in front of an audience either.]

I'm planning to head to Johto after a few days on the islands. Do you think it would be possible for me to drop by and check them out?

Re: Video

[dreamsofahero]

It can be, yes, especially if you want eggs only from that particular pair.

Of course, if you've established enough of a rapport with them, they may be willing to do something simply if you ask.

*not that it's something Sion asks of his team--almost never, in fact--but he knows he could*

And of course. There's no need to give notice if you come by during the gym's open hours, though if you do let me know I can make sure that either I or Ryner is around.

*probably Sion, because he does enjoy talking with the nerd kid*

For that matter, if you need an extra place for the lapras for a time, I imagine the pond could suffice for a few for a short time...

Video

[haveyouseenalittlegirl]

That sounds like a great project to work on. I'm afraid I don't have any Lapris myself. But I'll mention it, if I meet anyone who does.

[It was a very good speech though.]

How many do you have right now?

Video;

[schachmeister]

Thank you.

I have eight right now. Well-- [He glances down on the egg he is holding.] Nine when this one hatches.

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[haveyouseenalittlegirl]

It sounds like it's something that's really important to you.

[Harry is proud of you as well.]

Have you talked to anyone who has one yet?

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[schachmeister]

This is something that was very important to Mr Newt. Even though he isn't here anymore, I'd still like to carry out his dream. He helped me so much, it's the least I can do.

I've talked to Cecil. He's the one who bred this particular egg. If I don't end up finding any people who have a Lapras, I could try breeding mine with either pokemon of other species or a Ditto. I assume that in the wild they generally breed with other Lapras though, so I wanted to try that first.

video;

[haveyouseenalittlegirl]

That's good of you.

[He nods.]

That makes sense. Hopefully some people who have been here a while might now a bit more, but it's good you have a backup plan, just in case.

[Backup plans are always good.]

late to the lapras party...

[logical_lioness]

From what I've read about Lapras, they have two different egg groups they can fall into. That means that you could potentially breed them with different pokemon to get Lapras eggs.

For example, if you bred a Lapras with, say, a Dragalge, you'd get both Lapras and Dragalge eggs.

I guess it depends on whether you want to introduce any other pokemon to the pod to expand the gene pool.

Nobody is ever late to the Lapras party

[schachmeister]

I've thought about that. [He has! And he does have a few pokemon himself that he could potentially breed with members of his pod that way.] I was just wondering... it seems that pokemon in the wild breed with members of their own species. That's why I wanted to try and find other Lapras to breed with first, to make it the most natural for them. Though, of course, if there is no other option, I'll attempt that.

[logical_lioness]

Well I wouldn't suggest forcing it of course! But perhaps if you let your other water pokemon spend some time with them, you may find that they take a liking to each other naturally. If they don't, well at least it was worth a try.

[schachmeister]

I'll have to check which ones of my water pokemon shares an egg-group with Lapras.

[This whole business of there being three water groups really is quite inconvenient.]

I do have a Dragalge, but what I really need is some more males to breed with, and Juniper is female.

[logical_lioness]

At least it opens your options a little. I just recently acquired a Larvesta as well, so if you need help hatching the eggs, I'm happy to carry one or two around.

Oh you have a Dragalge as well? Eques is also female, but she... Doesn't play nice with others.