123rd [moon]

[paladinlost]

If you were a well-meaning yet clumsy Pokémon, where would you accidentally drop the last part of a 3000-piece puzzle?

[Cecil looks more puzzled than annoyed or upset, but in the background a Roserade, a Quagsire and a Togekiss are turning his kitchen upside down. Even as he desperately shakes a chair, the Quagsire starts crying. In an attempt to console him, the Roserade acientally hits his face with a flower.]

My team is dealing with slight... technical difficulties, you see, and we've run out of ideas.

Comments

[neverstudied]

Did you buy the puzzle, or was it a gift?

If you know where to buy another one of the same puzzle, get one. Your missing piece'll be in there somewhere. Sure, it'll be hell to sift through it all to find one piece, but it's better than searching forever for something that might be gone for good.

[paladinlost]

While I bought it, it was a limited edition. Still, there should be a copy or two left, and it's always a pleasure to support that particular artist... That would take care of the missing piece problem, but I doubt they'd feel better about losing it in the first place.

[neverstudied]

Yeah, yeah, I get ya.

Aside from just replacing the piece, I dunno what to tell ya- just keep searching underneath chairs and counters and couches and whatever else it might've fallen under, and hope that it didn't wind up in the trash somehow. Or, like, eaten, I wouldn't put it past some Pokemon to do that.

[paladinlost]

...I would like to say that none of my Pokémon are foolish enough to eat a puzzle piece while their siblings are using it, but that would be a blatant lie.

[He wouldn't call any of his Pokémon stupid in public, but that doesn't mean he's blind to their faults.]

The only piece of furniture in the room we've not yet lifted is the refrigerator. I would much rather hope to find it under a chair or a cushion, to be honest.

[neverstudied]

Hey, it could've been an accident. Someone sets a piece of food down on top of the piece without realizing it, picks it up with the piece, goodbye chance of finishing that puzzle.

I mean, you probably have Pokemon strong enough to lift it, right?

[paladinlost]

I cannot recall anyone eating in the vicinity, but as I train ghosts and would-be ninjas that means very little. For all I know, Eblan could have eaten while in another room, with that swift tongue of hers.

I do, but... I must admit that I do not deep clean the kitchen quite as often as I should, especially when it involves moving heavy appliances. The secrets it might reveal will be terrible to behold.

Video

[sleepallthewayhome]

Maybe it fell somewhere really small? Like a crack or a vent...or a drain?

[She's trying to think of small places in a kitchen.]

Video

[paladinlost]

A crack or a... Could it have somehow fallen down the sink? Have we looked there?

[Behind him, all three Pokémon freeze in horror before throwing themselves at said sink. Guess that's a no?]

Video

[sleepallthewayhome]

[Guess it was a no. She'll wait to see if they find it there.]

What's the picture on the puzzle?

Video

[paladinlost]

It's a lifelike painting of a Pidgeot attacking a swarm of Weedles defended by a Beedrill. The artist is from Celadon, he sells puzzles and reproductions of his works. He's so talented, you can almost hear the Pokémon cry out as they battle!

[The Quagsire looks up from his attempt to manipulate the water in the pipes long enough to express his appreciation of the picture. It's very pretty!]

Video

[sleepallthewayhome]

So he cut up a painting to make a puzzle?

Or is it a picture of the painting?

[ghoststanning]

Try the vents! You'd be surprise how often I find old puzzle pieces in there.

[Don't... ask what he was doing in vents.]

[paladinlost]

Are objects in vents truly such a common tale? You're the second to suggest it.

[ghoststanning]

I guess so! Puzzle pieces are usually just thin enough to slide through the cracks, especially if you're not super careful.

Then again, I have found some strange things in vents before and I have no idea how they coulda fit through the grate!

[paladinlost]

Was that in your own world, or here? Pokémon could explain many of those away, whether by using their powers or out of impressive clumsiness.

[islandshore]

[That... is a lot of distressed Pokemon. And a kitchen, of all places? Sheesh. Riku rubs his neck, blowing a small sigh.]

Drains, under the fridge, trash can, maybe behind appliances?

[Those are the first things that come to mind, anyway.]

Could've been kicked into another room, too, if it's small enough. Or stuck to a shoe.

[paladinlost]

I'm strongly hoping it's not under the fridge. I've not dusted there in years, and whatever it hides might be sentient by now.

[And probably a Poison-type to boot.]

It could have easily gotten stuck to Bavarois, too, but he's not been here for some time... But Mindflayer came for cookies earlier. Between his somewhat slimy body and his tentacles, he could have easily taken the piece away.

[islandshore]

Cecil, you better check. Who knows? Maybe you'll discover a dust bunny Pokemon.

[He cracks a crooked smirk, trying and failing to suppress a chuckle at the stupid mental image.]

But if it is attached to something slimy, then doesn't that mean you'll have to wash the stupid thing? And I'm not sure how waterpoof the pieces are in the first place.

[paladinlost]

It's not as if it'd be the strangest species around. I'd even expect to truly be another bunny.

[He shakes that image out of his head, before he loses himself pondering potential types.]

The side with the picture should be relatively simple to wash, but the back... Perhaps I'll truly need to buy the complete puzzle once more after all.

[islandshore]

See, it'd probably look super cute in its first stage... then turn into something huge and feral looking once it evolved, with huge clumps of trash and junk stuck to its body.

[Long, gnarly fangs. Beady, narrowed eyes... Wouldn't be the first time a Pokemon's had a drastic change between forms, after all.

But, eh, that's just speculation at that point, so Riku shrugs and focuses on the more pertinent subject.]

Anyway, it's up to you. If it were me, I'd probably just buy a replacement to save myself the stress, but would that be enough to satisfy your team?

[dreamsofahero]

Depending on just how clumsy you mean, perhaps wedged on top of a light fixture or such?

[paladinlost]

...Oh dear. Have we looked that high in any of the rooms?

[Apparently not, because the Togekiss is flying up and the roserade is climbing on the Quagsire's head.]

[dreamsofahero]

Alternatively, caught in a curtain or behind a picture frame or such.

*probably best not to ask how he knows to think in these kinds of terms*

[paladinlost]

I may as well check the top of the cupboards, at that point. And the ceiling fans.

[dreamsofahero]

It would probably be worth looking, yes. You never know where something like that may have flown.