victory_road | 2nd Recipe [Olivine City, Video]

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2nd Recipe [Olivine City, Video]

[It's definitely evident in this video that Jane's begun to settle in to the world of Pokemon. She's got her 'gear propped up so it can film her as she sits cross-legged on a bed (obviously in the Olivine Inn, for anyone who's ever stayed), backpack leaning against the pillow behind her, and she is all smiles.]

Hello again! This is Jane, for those of you who didn't see my, erm...grumpy introduction a few weeks ago. But yes, ah, so! I'm alright, my friend Dirk managed to pick me up on Route 31 and now I'm staying with him and some of our...relations, I guess you could call them, in Olivine City! It's really beautiful...but then again, this whole region is full to bursting with plants and people and Pokemon...

[She pauses, having caught herself gesturing as she spoke so excitedly, and blushes.]

Um, anyway. Pokemon - lots of types. That's what I wanted to talk about. I'm from a world where Pokemon was a video game that children played, but they only had 151 species. It's grown very apparent to me that there are lots more than that around, and I was wondering if anyone on here could give me some...opinions, I guess, on what kinds would be good to catch. I've heard we can talk to the Psychic ones, which would be so interesting to experience! But I also want to make sure I've got a balanced team, I've heard that is a very important thing to do, especially if you want to challenge the gyms, and...[She shrugs.] Well, it doesn't seem like you can travel with practicallity anywhere without some gym badges, and the closest one to me is a...Steel type gym, I think. So, for starters, I know I'll need to train a LOT just to get ready for the gym, but if I had something with a type advantage, I figure that would help heaps. For reference, I have an Audino and -

[She's cut off by the click and creek of an opening door, and soon a Kricketune toddles into view, forlorn as he climbs up on the bed to flop into Jane's lap. His mustache is a total mess and there are bits of green berry smashed all over his face, and Jane lets out a small gasp of surprise.]

Oh, Poirot, what happened? I thought you were playing with Dinah - wait...she didn't, did she?

Tuuuuuune...

[She shakes her head and tsks, reaching into her backpack for a small wooden box and a towel.]

Oh, it figures she'd do that! I'll give her a talking to when she comes in - ah, wait, hold on.

[Jane sets the things down and leans over, smiling sheepishly into the 'gear. As she talks, the Kricketune watches her and pales, hiding his face in the bedspread and groaning in mortification. She's talking into the thing, that means people can see how undignified he is doesn't it???]

Sorry about this! Um, anyway, if you've got suggestions for what kind of Pokemon I should catch, please let me know! I'll be able to respond once I've taken care of this poor fellow.

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[Thanks for giving him a chance to back out.]

If it's that long let's save it for some other day.

Alright, not a problem.

[She'll kindly offer it to everyone.]

Honestly, in my experience, they usually just hire you on the spot.

It is... not difficult to get a job in this place.

...Oh, wow. If only it could be so easy in every universe.

[She was kind of apparently supposed to inherit an entire company, but. Well. It's not like the American economy wasn't in a recession and didn't have folks scrambling for jobs.]

Heheh, I know, right?

I think the difference is that in this place, it's so expected for people ages like... ten-to-thirty to live on the road here. Your average job contract is only for a week, with the option to stay past that only if you want to.

Everywhere's designed to take on temp workers that aren't gonna stick around too long, so the turnaround's huge.

Pokemon is what the main career option's supposed to be-- everything else's just a way to support that.

Goodness! And that's not bad for businesses?

[Her thoughts snag on the last bit though.] Really, just...things to do with Pokemon? You could've fooled me. Battling's pretty easy, but it doesn't exactly rake in a lot of money unless you're constantly going at it - and even then, that's not fair to your Pokemon.

Oh, yeah, no one told ya?

No???

[MA'AM WHAT THE FUCK]

_{[She shrugs, making an "iunno" noise.]}

Seems to work well enough for them.

And making money with battles gets easier the stronger you get-- I don't usually bother getting actual jobs at this point, I make most of my money battling.

Not everybody can do it but it can be pretty lucrative if you get into it.

'Course, I've been here for six years.

So I've had plenty of time to get established in the battle scene.

If you're just starting out... better to get temp work and train on the side.

[Holy shit, six whole years?! Jane's jaw drops at that. But uh, let's ask about fat stacks of cash instead because HOO BOY six years is a long time.]

So...well...if you're strong enough. Who exactly do you battle to make something to live off of? I do battle trainers here and there, but they don't really hand over much when you win.

Ah. Well.

...That’s how it is.

[WHAT… IS HE SUPPOSED TO SAY HERE…]

As a Flabébé she was about this big, I think?

[Holding her hands about four-ish inches apart, in contrast to the three-foot-and-change creature onscreen.]

And she was about twice that as a Floette, her first evolution.

Goodness, that is tiny! Are all Fairy Pokemon so diminuative?

[Can YOU help him understand to respect the institution of romance, Jane? ...She should not ask for miracles.]

I guess we could call them "universes" too, or "dimensions," everyone just said world when I showed up and it stuck like a spider web. [She shrugs.] Ahm, but, that makes sense! As to, why I hadn't heard about you from Dave. He's talked my ear off about...everyone, but if you're from Dirk's neck of the woods.

[A little smile.] Well, I guess it's just...someone new to get to know, you know? If you don't...mind that. I'm babbling. I'm, uh, I'm glad you've got one of your friends here, then! And that one of his is here, oh gosh, I know it must've been very strange for him.

[Hell no, she's failed in it herself.]

It was definitely more like "alternate universes" from what's been explained to me, but it's still incredibly weird.

[A nod.] Oh, yes, I don't mind at all! And I certainly am glad he wasn't completely alone when he got here...though, I am assuming the others got here before him, and that all the friendly folks here were able to help him out.

In my experience, the bigger the cities, the stronger the trainers. And the stronger you are, the more people wanna battle you to try and show off their chops.

Sure, one battle with a Youngster who skipped class to sneak out to one of the routes and hang out with the big kids is probably not gonna net you much money, completely aside from the fact that it's really not that sporting to accept a challenge from one of them anyway.

But a battle with somebody who's already won a bunch that morning? Considerably more.

Rack up four or five wins like that before calling it a day and you've got enough to eat for the week and then some.

Do the same thing three days in a row and you've got enough to pay off a hotel room instead of crashing in the Pokemon Center lobby every night.

It's not a luxurious existence, but you can make it work.

Edited 2016-08-28 11:49 (UTC)

I see. So the main objective is to strengthen yourself, rack up a winning streak, try to beat other folks on a winning streak, and do it in cities.

[A nod.] I am definitely all about making it work. I'm here, after all, so what else would I do?

[Well yes, she's not asking for success in the subject, she's aware how difficult that is.]

Mm-hm! I think...Dave's been here the longest? When I got here it was just him and Jade, and he talked about her arriving, so. [Tiny shrug.] As you've experienced firsthand, tons of people are real helpful. ...When they're here for, like, years, I guess it's only expected.

[Who actually succeeds in romance? Where are these mythical unicorns??]

Yes, I keep running into people who count their time here in years. It's honestly kind of mind-boggling! But at the same time, I can't say I haven't done my best to listen to their advice. I...may not know exactly how long I'll find myself here, but I don't intend to be a slouch.

[Like, she hasn't failed at romance? Exactly? Look, she's like, a horse waiting for her second interview, okay.]

Haha, that determination... Oh, gosh, you were asking about, um...type match-ups, right? It completely slipped my mind. Which gym were you at again? I...only have three badges so I don't know how much help I can be.

[A shrug.] Aw shucks, I try.

I'm at the one in Olivine City right now. It's said it's a Steel-type gym.

Yeah. I mean, that's one strategy. It's not like there aren't trainers out in the sticks who hang out looking for battles, too. But that's what's worked for me.

As for other stuff... the Centers don't pay a ton, but they're free to stay at, if a little uncomfortable, and they're almost always right next to PokeMarts in case you get sick of living off of the complimentary stuff in the Centers.

So if you wanna be thrifty while you settle in, I'd do that. As long as you can stand sleeping in a lobby and dealing with people 24/7, anyway. Me, I couldn't cut it, so after awhile I started springing for hotel rooms and got a better-paying job at a department store instead.

_{[Which ALSO hadn't been a walk in the park, BUT HEY, that's why she started putting her energy into battling instead.]}

I see...I think I could stand a lobby for a night or two, but it certainly doesn't sound comfortable for an extended stay. I've just been shacking up with my friends in Inns because that's where they are, and then working to make sure I can cover each night's stay with what I win.

[Well, that and food...and other small assorted things. She would actually like to spoil her Pokemon just a little bit at some point.]

Since everything sounds like it's quite transient, I think I'll wait until I know what our little group is going to do next, and then look for a job someplace.

Yeah, that's the other thing.

Shacking up with friends? Totally worth it. The hotel costs are so much easier to cover if you're splitting between two or three other people.

Even better if you manage to have friends that own their own place and don't mind you crashing, which... is what I'm doing these days.

_{[RENT-FREE EVEN. She makes it up to them by being really generous with Christmas and birthday gifts. Buuuut not everybody winds up that lucky, so she doesn't bring that part up.]}

We can own our own homes here? Even if we're not of age?

[This is actually...really amazing news that she wants to take advantage of immediately.]

What about buildings in general? If I earned the money to rent...let's say a small business property. If that was something I wanted to do, then even at sixteen, would I be able to do that?

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2nd Recipe [Olivine City, Video]

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