[Track 1]: Route 29 || video

[colorpalatable]

--Oh, hey, it records!

[There's a pale, black-haired young woman on the network today, inspecting her new 'Gear. She has a little Noibat chilling in her mass of hair like an adorable bat-shaped barrette. She studies the Pokegear seriously for a moment or two before noticing something else:]

Oh snap, and it broadcasts! Sweet!

Hey! Barkeep guy! You were right, that Mom lady was really weird! She gave me a lot of snacks, though, so that's cool.

But, uh, I kind of. Already ate them all? Look, I got carried away, okay? Does anyone know if there's anything else to eat on, what is it, Route 29? Besides the berries, I mean. My girl here - [she gestures to her new Noibat pal] - really digs them buuuuuut I still think they seem kinda suspect. For me to eat, that is. Thanks, peeps!

[Marceline: Out!]

Comments

[colorpalatable]

Heh, yeah, I must not have.

..."Egon" sounds familiar, though. I think somebody I talked to earlier mentioned him. A girl named Lena?

[neverstudied]

Yyyyep. That sounds about right. That kid's definitely gotten to know Egon's brand of stupid pretty well.

[He sounds particularly exasperated at that- not at Lena or Marceline, but at Egon for being... the way that he is.]

What'd she tell you?

[colorpalatable]

Mostly that he talks like a robot and asks stupidly invasive questions.

I think he sounds like a riot.

[neverstudied]

[He snorts.]

He is. And I love him for it.

Try not to be too upset if he asks you anything weird, tell him off if you have to, and let me know if I gotta make him apologize for anything.

Anyway, back on the topic of you being stranded in the wilderness without food- I'm guessing some people've already offered to send you shit, if you can't just head back to the first town? You gonna be alright with making the three-day walk from New Bark to Cherrygrove on foot?

[Not asking because he doubts her abilities, but because Venkman's still got some Doduo eggs to sell and new people are the ones most likely to need rideable ostriches.]

[colorpalatable]

Got it!

And yeah, I've got a couple offers for care packages, someone advised going back to stock up again, and someone else recommended dropping most of my cash to take the ferry over to Kanto. I got a lot of options, so I'll figure something out.

I'm Marceline, by the way.

[neverstudied]

Kanto ferry's what I went with, personally. Definitely better than spending my first few days in the woods on Christmas day. Gave me time to get my bearings and pick up some fire-types so I wouldn't freeze to death. 'Course, that's not gonna be a problem for you. Hell of a lot more likely to get heat stroke than freeze right now.

The big downside is that the ferry means you run outta cash pretty quickly, and unless you get a job, you'll be broke for a bit. Unless you pick up one of the money cats.

Dr. Peter Venkman. Nice to meet you.

[colorpalatable]

Nice to meet you too, Doc.

Not gonna lie, the ferry does sound pretty tempting. Expensive, but tempting. But now I have another question! It's been a long time since I've had much use for money, so how important is it here? Obviously I can use it to ride the ferry, but walking's free.

[neverstudied]

Pretty important, unless you wanna live in the woods like a hermit most of the time. Gotta use money to buy hotel rooms, food, items for your Pokemon, containment units to catch Pokemon...

You can usually earn money pretty easily, if it helps.

[Unless you're stubborn, like Venkman, and aggressively refuse to get a job for for months.]

[colorpalatable]

I mean...I've done the woodland hermit thing before, it's not so bad.

But beds are nice, too.

And food.

And. Pokemon? I guess?

...Man, there's almost too much to think about.

[neverstudied]

You'll get used to it after a while.

If you don't feel like getting a job and you're fine with the hermit lifestyle, you can sicc your Pokemon on other trainer's Pokemon, and they'll pay you if you win. Doesn't make much cash, but if you're living in the forest, it'll probably be enough to let you buy food and most other essentials. I'd also invest in getting a Meowth as soon as you can- they're cats that make legal money out of thin air.

[colorpalatable]

Okay, wait, there's a cat that makes money? Why doesn't everyone have one?

...Or does everyone have one and I'm just late to the money cat party?

[neverstudied]

Most people have 'em, I think. I've got two- I've been planning to breed them for a while, if you're interested in cat eggs.

And yes, cats lay eggs. Everything lays eggs here. It's weird.

[colorpalatable]

Money cat eggs? Eh, I've seen weirder. Maybe I'll take you up on that one day once I've got more stuff figured out. We'll see how I do taking care of this little lady, first.

["This little lady" is the Noibat still clinging to Marceline's head like an adorable, over-sized bat barrette. She squeaks happily when Marceline mentions her.]