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[Anyone wandering Goldenrod will see an exasperated Connor with his legs and torso mostly stuck inside the bubble of an Araquanid. Said Araquanid looks cheerful as it strolls down the roads, his trainer safely tucked away inside his bubble. A Magnezone follows behind, beeping in confusion. Get close enough, and you'll hear Connor alternating between pleading with the Araquanid to put him down, and trying to reassure the Magnezone that everything is fine.]

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[Connor is finally out of the Araquanid's bubble, and has a Beheeyem floating beside him. He looks curious as he studies it, before glancing over at the camera.]

Crystal evolved today. I was reading the Pokedex entry on Beheeyem, and it says that it can manipulate memories. It even implies that my memories may have already been overwritten. If they have, would I have any way of knowing?

[More of a rhetorical question, really... but still.]

I was wondering if there are any Pokedex entries in particular that you've found disturbing, or interesting. Given the picturesque world we seem to live in, some of the entries are kind of dark, aren't they?

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Mine screwed with my memories a bit when she was still a newborn Elgyem, before I finally got through to her and taught her that that sorta thing doesn't fly. She evolved last month, and so far she hasn't tried anything like that again, which means I must've done something right when teaching her right from wrong.

[Which is a miracle, to be honest. And even then, it didn't perfectly work. Sigourney doesn't mess with people's memories mainly because it makes them feel bad afterwards. That's the only thing stopping her, sometimes.]

For me, I could usually feel Sig poking around in my brain around and focusing on whatever memory she wanted to manipulate, before she actually went ahead and did it. That's basically all the warning I had. And when she'd completely remove a memory, I could kinda sense a hole where it should've been.

I dunno if it was intentional or not on her part, but most of the memories fixed themselves a few weeks later, thank God. No idea if that's normal or not, though. Might've just been because she was still too young to permanently do damage.

Crystal never manipulated my memories as an Elgyem, or at least... I don't think she did. But since she evolved, my head has felt strange. I can't tell if she's just looking around, or if she's going to rewrite things.

[He glances at the Beheeyem.]

Please don't.

[The Pokemon just kind of stares at him.]

Can you describe how it feels? Like, does it feel like she's prodding at anything specific, or is it more general? And did she ever look into your mind before she evolved? If not, she might just be trying to get a general feel for things.

Also, does she ever act vindictive, spiteful, lash out when she's angry or upset, or overall show signs of throwing tantrums or emotional instability? 'Cause if so, then I'd really start worrying about your memories.

It feels more like she's just looking, I guess. It never felt that way before she evolved. She was always more interested in food.

[And the other Pokemon, too. But mostly food.]

She's sulked before if I've laid off the treats, but nothing spiteful. She's usually very friendly.

Cool. You probably don't have anything to worry about, then.

[Reassuring!]

Worst case scenario, if she does start screwing your mind up, you already know she's food motivated. You can try offering her treats when she taps into your mind but doesn't mess with anything, and that'll hopefully build an association of "not messing up memories" equals "more food".

I guess I could try that. Food does seem to be a good motivator for a lot of my Pokemon.

[Which gets expensive, but he'll take spending a little more on treats over losing his memories.]

Well, I have a Froslass, and the Pokedex entry on them says that they like to freeze people and put them on display as statues. I also heard that they're actually the ghosts of women who froze to death, but I don't think that's true since I've had her since she was a Snorunt...

That's creepy.

[Connor frowns a little.]

I assume she's never tried to freeze you?

Thankfully, she hasn't. [Though she has seen Shizuka occasionally look at people with a very interested look on her face...]

That story reminds me a lot of the folktales about yuki-onna people would tell back where I'm from. They're a lot like Froslass, come to think of it...mysterious snow women who only show up during winter and freeze people.

At least your Froslass doesn't seem to be interested in freezing anyone. That would be unpleasant.

[He tilts his head though, curious.]

Yuki-onna? We didn't have tales like that back home... or if we did, I never heard them.

Well, I'm from Japan, and we have a lot of stories about monsters and spirits like the yuki-onna. Some of the Pokemon here remind me of those stories, come to think of it.

They do? Which ones?

[Connor is interested in those kinds of stories. He'd never heard any back in Detroit.]

Well, Vulpix and Ninetales...they look a lot like foxes and have a lot of tails, right? There's a lot of stories about how foxes can supposedly live for hundreds of years, and every hundred years they'll grow a new tail. They can have up to nine tails, and the nine-tailed ones are supposedly almost divine, kind of like gods.

Connor?

[Any pleading voice causes Connor's big guard bear to come running, and what he doesn't expect, when he turns the corner, is to see Connor in a fuckin' bubble held by a possessive Pokemon.]

Hey! Put him down.

[He talks to the Araquanid with the same firmness he talks to any of his dogs.]

Come on... Put him down!

[Problem is Hank's arms are full of groceries and he doesn't have many pokemon with thumbs, so either than a firm voice there's not much he can do.]

[The Araquanid cocks its head to the side, and somehow manages to look unhappy even with the face it has. It makes a sad sound. It doesn't like being talked to that way. Connor has only ever spoken to it softly, and it doesn't see what's wrong with putting Connor safely in its bubble.]

Hank.

[Connor sounds relieved, though he pauses when he sees Hank's arms are full of shopping.]

I don't suppose you could put those down for a moment?

He doesn't like it in there! [Hank's fully pulled out his bossy dad tone, deep voice as firm as ever. But, oh, right, his arms are full of groceries. Which luckily include Pokemon treats, but, you know.]

Okay, um... just uh... let me...

[He fumbles over words as he's deciding where to put down the bags. The sidewalk pavement has to do as he goes over to the pokemon and holds his arms out.]

Come on, give him to me. Come on and you won't even be in trouble. We'll give you a snack.

[The Pokemon seems reluctant to let Connor out even after the promise of treats, but eventually he lowers his head and lets Connor pull himself out. He lays on the sidewalk for a few moments, sighing, his clothes soaked through.]

...Thanks.

[He sits up, pushing his hair back into a more acceptable state, and looks up at the Araquanid.]

I'll let you put something else of mine in the bubble, okay? You don't need to carry me.

[Welp. At least it's warm out. Hank had intended to try and keep him on his feet, reaching as Connor was damply removed and splorched onto the pavement, and makes a half ass attempt to help Connor up. But since he seems to need the lie-down, he leaves him there and stays crouched near him.]

[He offers Connor his hand to help him up. As usual, Connor's hair is a million times more obedient than Hank's.]

You gonna be alright? Should I have Connie warm you up? Wanna hug so you won't be the only one sloshing their way fuckin' home?

[Connor pulls his shoes off to empty them of water, then puts them back on and gets back to his feet.]

I'll be fine. It's just water.

[But he'll take the hug, pulling Hank close and nuzzling his wet face into his neck with a smile.]

[And then Connor is hugging him, and he can feel wet sinking into the front of his clothes, especially his belly and chest.]

Hope I'm a good towel.

[And he hugs his sloshy boyfriend.]

I get to fuckin' carry the groceries home like this now, you know that? [But he doesn't let go, he gives him a squeeze. Behind his back, though, Tubbs picks up one of the bags in his mouth and wags his enormously puffy tail.]

You're not quite as efficient as a towel, but I enjoy drying off on you more.

[Connor pulls back to pick up some groceries, too.]

Here, I'll help.

Yup. That's a fuckin' weird compliment.

[He pats Connor's butt as he turns away, before picking up his share of the groceries.]

Glad I picked plastic. So when did you end up getting stuck in the bubble? How long have you been in there?

[Tubbs follows after them, bag in his mouth, just happily wagging that butt like it's the best day. Because he has the bag with the treats.]

[The Araquanid follows them too, along with Crockett. A small parade of large Pokemon and their Trainers.]

I'm not sure. It feels like I've been in there at least an hour. I'm glad you came along when you did.

Did no one else stop to try and get you out or is everybody that fuckin' used to that happening?

[Hank's face knits up a little, nose wrinkling. Well, at least he's down.]

Uh, Shadowmaru's comin' down soon to see me. So I'm gonna take off work and see if, I dunno, I can do some sorta safety course for kids but without sounding too scary. I don't think that'd go over too well.

I didn't see anyone I knew until you showed up. Nobody else really seemed to care... maybe they thought I was in there on purpose.

[Which is stupid, but whatever.]

Do you need me to do anything while you're gone?

I'd just be out for an afternoon or two. It wouldn't be a big deal. I just... I dunno...

I wanted you to know I was doin' something.

[He's trying, at least, and for some reason he feels like he should be informing Connor of that. But that feels hard to explain. Uphill battles against mental ruts are hard, and Hank's definitely prone to slipping into depressive gutters.]

Thought you might have some ideas on what I could talk about, too.

[Connor gives him a gentle smile, taking his hand.]

I'm glad that you're trying. I realise that sometimes it can be difficult for you.

[Even if he doesn't quite understand, he tries to be sympathetic. He still thinks Hank needs professional help, but he's not sure where to go about finding it, especially if Hank doesn't want it.]

I'm not sure what you could talk about, though... what kind of trouble do kids get themselves into?

[It's also hard to get professional help in the most traditional of senses in a place where most people that need it? Just seem to become rockets. Everyone else is fine or maybe a gym leader. There's not a lot of in-between.]

Oh, jesus. Kids. They're into everything. "Drink this, it's a great color." "Eat this, don't check the expiration date." "I bet I could dive into this, it doesn't look that deep." Kids are great, I absolutely love 'em, but they're wonderful tiny idiots who don't know how to check anything they do before they do it.

I suppose one way of knowing would be to see if your memories still align with those around you who haven't met your Beheeyem yet. That or using something like personal journals.

[This is just some theoretical guesswork as Armin doesn't exactly have much experience with these memory altering pokemon and he'd rather not, thank you very much!]

But on the topic of disturbing pokedex entries, have you ever read Pallosand's?

Maybe a journal wouldn't be such a bad idea...

[He picks up his Gear while it's still recording, so while he looks up Palossand's entry Armin gets a flattering angle of Connor's chin.]

"Palossand eats small Pokémon and siphons away their vital essence while they're still alive." Oh. That's unpleasant.

I've been keeping a journal since I got here. If nothing else, it's a nice way to look up the details of something that happened in the past.

[It can be hard to remember all the details, but not as hard when you've got your own journals as a reminder.]

I actually don't think that is the worst part. Unpleasant for the pokemon being eaten, yes, but isn't that simply part of nature? If it wouldn't eat them, the Palossand would starve to death. I was referring more to them being able to possess adults and force them to keep adding sand to its structure.

Though, to be honest, I've never actually heard of anyone who was possessed by one.

Edited 2019-07-13 21:45 (UTC)

Well, I wouldn't want it to starve. It still seems like an awfully cruel way to go, though.

[But... yes, nature. It's cruel sometimes.]

A lot of these entries seem to be snippets of stories rather than facts. It makes me wonder if there was ever any truth in them.

[He kind of hopes, in this case, that it's entirely made up.]

I'm honestly not sure. Some of them are absolutely truthful. Like, Poliwag's entry mentions that the spiral shape on their stomach is actually their intestines which are visible through the skin. I know for a fact that one is true as I owned a Poliwag. But at the same time, there are also some entries that are a bit more... fantastical. Especially when it comes to the various ghost pokemon.

I mean, a lot of them mention these ghosts being the embodiment of vengeful spirits or human emotions, but it seems that does not line up with our ability to breed ghost pokemon just like we can any other pokemon.

Yamask's entry implies that it's someone who died. That can't be true, though. Mine hatched from an egg just like any other Pokemon would.

[So Armin does have a point.]

The entry was right in that they'll cry looking at their masks, though... which makes me wonder why it cries.

[If it's not because it's remembering a past life, then what is it?]

Gorebyss' entries have convinced me to never train one, if only to never watch it eat.

[Or to never risk being eaten like that.]

Unless you know someone who shares all of your memories, it'd be difficult to tell. Even then, that person's own biases and emotions might explain away any differences.

How does a Gorebyss eat?

[He's curious, now.]

Hank shares many of my memories from home, but not all of them. Luckily, I don't think Crystal has tampered with my mind as of right now. It was earlier described to me as being something you can feel happening.

By sucking the fluids out of its prey. I, for one, don't ever want to be treated like a juice box by some pink fish-eel.

[Nor by any other creature, really.]

I'm not sure if feeling your memories get rewritten would be worse or better than never knowing, especially if you can't stop it at that point. You have a potential point of comparison around, at least.

Oh. That's unfortunate.

[Now he's caught wondering which would be worse; having his fluids sucked out, or by being crushed by sand. Thanks, Pokedex entries!]

I'm not sure if I'd rather know, either. Maybe if I did know, I could at least ask the Pokemon to restore them.

As long as your relationship is positive enough, that would be your best bet. Then again, would a Pokémon who likes their trainer overwrite their memories in the first place? Or is it automatic and uncontrolled?

That's a good question. If you're worried, you could start making recordings of important thoughts that you can go back to just in case and see if they change.

[Also he has to give some thought to the last one.]

A lot of them are dark. I'm kind of starting to wonder how accurate they are actually. But...I think the creepiest are the ones that leave a lot of stuff ambiguous. Like one of the ones on Zorua.

It says "If a normally talkative child suddenly stops talking, it may have been replaced by Zorua." Replaced? What does that even mean? Is the kid dead now? Does the Zorua pretend to be a human forever or just vanish after a while?

That's a good idea. I might try it.

[Connor thinks on that entry, though.]

That is ominous. I wonder if that has actually happened before. I hope the child was okay, if so.

My current theory is that it's probably happened at least once and that's why it got written down somewhere.

You'd think they'd add more information about the kid. But it's hard to fact check this stuff.

It could have happened a very long time ago, so the only information left is that the child was replaced. If it was passed down mostly by word of mouth, that seems like the fact most people would remember.

[Unfortunately, who the child was and what happened to him or her afterwards probably didn't matter to most people.]

I suppose. Legends are like that, and people seem more interested in the pokemon not the missing kids.

You'd think they'd want to keep records of both though. Figuring out what a Zorua does with the kid would give you a lot of information about what Zorua's are like.

Parasect. Once you evolve a Paras, a fungus devours its brain, and the original Pokemon no longer exists.

[It's said with a flat face and a heavy tone. Ultimately, he can't keep the poker face for long, though, and he winces, then sighs.]

But honestly... there's a lot. Just about any ghost type is a minefield of nightmare fuel. Licks that make you shudder for the rest of your life. Kidnapping children...

Oh. Would it recognise its owner, in that case?

[Connor nods to that, though.]

I have a few Ghost type Pokemon. Cofagrigus in particular has an entry that states they like to swallow people who get too close and turn them into mummies. It took me a little while to accept hugs from mine.

Not sure. Never really trained one, but dang... That's actually a good question.

[Never mind the moral conundrums. Is it even ethical to let Paras evolve and become stronger if it robs them of their free will? Riku averts his gaze for a moment. What a dark train of...

Oh.

That just went places.]

Sheesh. And here I thought them being the spirits of the deceased was creepy enough. But they've got nothing on Phantump. They're allegedly the spirits of dead kids.

Some of these entries imply that the Pokemon know they're dead spirits, too. Like Yamask, who cries at the mask it holds of its human face.

[Connor glances back at his Cofagrigus, who is floating past with all four hands happily holding a Snorlax plushie each. His Pumpkaboo follows, bouncing merrily after it.]

...Though for trapped spirits, they seem rather content right now.

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