[video / action for new bark town]

[meteorman]

[Ford is perhaps better-equipped than most to deal with suddenly being dropped into a strange world unlike anything he's ever seen before. That was his life for thirty-odd years, and that it's begun again doesn't trouble him much. He'll adapt; he always has, with time. The woman (clearly younger than him) calling herself his mother is a little strange, but further inquiry and a cursory scan of the literature included in his new backpack answer most of his questions. In particular, they explain the neat little device that looks very much like an odd cellphone. This 'Pokégear' can be used to communicate with other people, and so that is exactly what Ford decides to do. If he's learned anything in his prior experience with this sort of thing, it's to ask questions.

The camera shakes a little, and his face is sort of awkwardly off to the side of the frame, but he managed to get it working and that's the important thing. For a first try he's not doing all that badly. Behind him, trees and a couple of quaint New Bark Town roofs are visible.]

Greetings! Is greetings the polite form of salutation in this universe? My name is Stanford Pines, and like what I assume must be the majority of you, I am not a native of this world. I only just arrived today, in fact. This is probably the warmest welcome I've seen since the universe where every day is your birthday.

[That place got old really fast, honestly (and you got old really fast if you stayed there too long).]

But, to business. [He holds up a pokéball with the hand not holding the 'gear.] How do you open--

[As if on cue, the Pokéball pops open and out of the light materializes a small green creature. It takes one look at him, lets out a surprised trill, and zips away out of frame.]

Oh! [Ford peers in the direction it went, clearly thrilled to bits.] I think it hid in those bushes, hold on --

[Those who reply by 'gear will get to follow what is essentially Ford Pines liveblogging his attempts to recapture his own starter. Or perhaps, if you're in New Bark Town as well, you'd like to help in person? An old man crashing around in the underbrush on the outskirts of town is sure to draw attention.]

Comments

[heartdive]

Yeah there is that... But if you want it to stay out then why not lure it out with a treat?

[meteorman]

A treat? I'm not certain what it might eat...

[Hm. He opens the bag slung over his shoulder and rummages around in it for that bento box. Sora gets a lovely view of the trees above him as his other hand skews the camera in a totally unhelpful direction.]

Do you think it might be interested in rice or shrimp?

[heartdive]

[ at that, Sora shakes his head. ]

Try berries. There might be a few trees nearby. I mean they might go for the rice or shrimp, depending on what it is.

[meteorman]

If I spot any I'll certainly try that.

[At least he's good at foraging. Having to make his own way in alternate worlds has taught him the basics.]

Are these creatures primarily herbivores, then? You aren't the only one to suggest berries.

[heartdive]

Some are and some aren't. Sneasel eats eggs, for instance. Others, like Lumi, feed off of other people's energy. Then there's a Psychic-type that eats dreams.

But all of 'em like berries.

[meteorman]

That is... interesting. I wonder what sort of nutrition a creature can gain from dreams.

[heartdive]

No one really knows about all of the mysteries that surround these guys. But the relationship between people and Pokemon is very important.

[meteorman]

Mysteries, you say?

[OH BOY THAT WAS THE RIGHT WORD TO USE ALRIGHT]

Do you mean to say there is an active need for research and inquiry?

[heartdive]

There always is. The problem is that no one seems to really get anywhere. Riku and Cecil have been here longer than anyone else I know and they still don't have answers for why things are the way the are here.

[meteorman]

Perhaps all that means is they need to try new methods. There are always answers to be found if one looks in the right places.

Riku and Cecil. I'll be sure to look them up.

[heartdive]

Maybe! It'd be nice to know how this place and strip away all magic and abilities, but make nonhumans human!

[meteorman]

Yes, I had heard something or other about that.

[Only vague whispers, but that's the beginning of something at the very least.]

I would assume some sort of universal law of assimilation; that is, any lifeforms that enter within the bounds of this universe are obliged to change their form to one that the universe recognizes as native. Not many universes have them but some are more self-policing than others. It is a defense mechanism.

[heartdive]

This is the first time I've been forced to. Usually the other times it was on us. It wasn't like people could know we were from a different world.

[meteorman]

Ah! So this is something that has happened to you before? Are you a dimensional traveler?

[heartdive]

Not in the last few years, obviously. And I dunno if it's dimensions that we go to, but definitely new places that have their own problems. Own peoples.

[meteorman]

And you took on characteristics of those peoples, or at least had a way of being able to do so if you wished to? I've never encountered technology like that.

[Like, a universal translator, sure. Stuff to help you breathe on a planet with an atmosphere you couldn't survive in, sure. Definitely nothing like what he's inferring Sora is referring to.]