Video :: 01

[thestrongsilenttype]

[ Please observe this confused young man. He can’t be any older than twenty, and the lost expression on his face makes him look even younger. The shirt he’s wearing is absolutely threadbare, and he looks like he’s been running around in the woods for a while. ]

Hey... this isn’t Hyrule, is it? I woke up in someone’s house, and she said she was my mother and then kicked me out. Now there’s a dog following me, and... that... she wasn’t actually my mother, I think, but I can’t remember.

[ He scrubs at his face. There are an assortment of scars on his arms and hands, including one that looks like a triangle on the back of his palm. ]

I’m Link. Someone needed my help but I don’t know how to find her. I’m not in the right place.

Comments

[video]

[captainash]

None of us are, I'm sorry to say. There is a chance the person you seek will end up here someday too, but it's not guaranteed.

[Ash is not sure if that will reassure the young man or not, but in any case it's best to warn him early.]

That woman calls herself everyone's mother, and she... doesn't seem quite all there, so you don't need to worry too much about that. The dog following you is your new best friend, though. At the very least, it can protect you from the local critters.

[thestrongsilenttype]

[ Link seems a bit relieved that the woman in question is not, in fact, his actual mother. He glances down at the Rockruff looking up at him with adoring eyes, feeling a new concern rearing its head. ]

Are there monsters?

[ Rockruff barks as if to assert that he can, in fact, protect Link. ]

This little guy is... pretty small.

[captainash]

Around here, monsters and animals are pretty much the same thing, except when the monsters happen to be rocks or plants. The locals call them Pokémon, and they usually love nothing more than to prove themselves in combat. Yours included.

[That sounded like the bark of a fighter, at any rate.]

Most Pokémon species start out small, but they grow bigger as they fight. And as it happens, all the wild species around New Bark Town are small too. Fighting them won't be a problem, and you can catch a few if you're worried he'll need help.

[thestrongsilenttype]

Hmm.

[ Link looks down at the Rockruff again. ]

All right. I guess I'll call you... Champion.

[ Rockruff barks in delight, and Link turns the gear to capture the image of the pup prancing around.

Turning the camera to face himself again, he seems a little more confident now. ]

Thanks for the information. What's your name?

[captainash]

[That delightful glimpse of a prancing Rockruff is enough to brighten Ash's smile. Hell, it's enough to brighten his day.]

It's Captain Ash. Nice to meet you! And Champion, of course. What's yours?

[thestrongsilenttype]

Link. Just Link.

[captainash]

Just Link? Well, then, that'll be easy enough to remember. Though Champion's sheer ambition is also memorable, in its own way.

Video

[sleepallthewayhome]

She's not your mother. She just lies to everyone and tells them she is.

[Because she's a liar and Newt still hates her. Also aw, she met a Link before but you're not them. Oh well.]

If the persons still in your own world, it's okay. Apparently time freezes when we're gone, so when you go back you can go back to looking for her and you won't have missed anything.

Re: Video

[thestrongsilenttype]

Oh. I thought it seemed strange. I can’t remember what my mother looks like so I wasn’t sure...

Even if the person showed up here I wouldn’t recognize her. I wouldn’t even know my own name if I hadn’t heard her voice, but I didn’t see her face so I don’t know what she looks like.

Video

[sleepallthewayhome]

It's really weird. No one knows why she tells everyone that.

[That last part makes her think for a moment.]

Maybe you'd be able to recognize her voice? Or, do you think she knows what you look like?

[thestrongsilenttype]

I would know her voice, for sure. It’s the only thing I have, now. She seemed to know me, though. That’s a start.

[sleepallthewayhome]

Well most people use the video or audio functions on the gear so you'd probably hear her at some point if she is here or shows up.

And she might respond to your post if she is here and knows who you are.

[thestrongsilenttype]

I hope she does. Maybe she'd be safer here than back in Hyrule.

[ There's a brief pause here. ]

What's your name?

[sleepallthewayhome]

[A lot of people are safer here then their normal homes.]

My name's Newt.

[thestrongsilenttype]

Nice to meet you. I'm Link, and this is Champion.

[ Rockruff pops up on the screen and barks happily. ]

[sleepallthewayhome]

Hi Link, hi Champion!

Oh I had a Rockruff. He's grown up now but they're really great! Just a second.

[She'll go and get a pokemon who has been running around. It's a Midday Form Lycanroc who looks into the screen and barks a cheerful hello.]

His name is Hicks!

[thestrongsilenttype]

[ Champion's ears perk up and he comes to sit with Link so they can both look at the screen. He barks an equally cheerful response, and Link tentatively pets between his ears. ]

Nice to meet you, too, Hicks. I suppose that means Champion will grow up to look like him.

[ He looks tough. Link appreciates this. ]

[sleepallthewayhome]

Maybe. Rockruffs can evolve into different forms.

[She's recently been doing a lot of research on moves and the like so it's fresh in her mind.]

Hicks is a Midday Form Lycanroc. I think there's two other ones that Rockruffs can evolve into. But I'd have to look through my notes for how.

[thestrongsilenttype]

Midday? Does it change depending on the time?

[sleepallthewayhome]

I think it's night or day for two of them. I don't really know about the third form.

[marmoron]

[Oh jesus christ, this dude's a mess.]

Woah, okay.

First of all, you're right. You're not in the right place. You're in Johto now and that little guy following you around is gonna be your buddy from here on out. Everyone who wakes up here gets the 'mom' experience, but nobody really understands much about that other than it happens.

[He's not even touching this "I don't remember" thing right now because what the fuck.]

It's gonna be okay.

[thestrongsilenttype]

[ Yes, Keith, you'd probably also be a mess if you were an amnesiac who'd spent the last several days hearing voices, fending off monsters with sticks, and living off scavenged food. Just saying.

At any rate, he seems to wind down a little as Keith speaks. ]

All right. Yeah. It'll be okay.

[marmoron]

[Look, he's not judging, he's merely taking note of the obvious here.]

It's a lot to take in at once, I know. We've all been there.

[A beat.]

But you're safe for now. ["For now." Who knows when the next bunch of dimension traveling aliens want to show up to cause the apocalypse? But he'll ... keep that on the downlow for now. No need to set the guy off again when he's just started to settle down.]

Keith. By the way.

[thestrongsilenttype]

Safe. That's good, I guess, but it feels less important than figuring out who I am. There was an old man back in Hyrule... I think he might have known, but I didn't get a chance to meet up with him again.

[ Link looks contemplatively down at his fingers, rubbing the pads together. His hand feels empty, so he reaches over to pick up a nearby stick to twirl idly. ]

Keith. I'm Link.

[marmoron]

Well you know your name so that's a start.

[Whic isn't necessarily intended to be flippant, but.....]

It might come back to you over time. Or while you're traveling. I think memories can be triggered by being around things that might be familiar? [Expert on retrograde amnesia that Keith is, of course. Hollywood is truly a reputable source here.]

Not that I know how similar this Hyrule place is to Johto or Kanto, but usually people are able to find places that remind them of home here.

[thestrongsilenttype]

[ He assumes his name is Link because a disembodied voice called to him, and having a name is better than nothing, but in reality it could be anything. ]

I don't know... maybe. There were woods and open fields back in Hyrule. I was on a plateau, and there was a tower I was able to climb to see for miles around. There was a castle, but it was in ruins. I saw a volcano, too--it looked active. There were tall, snow-capped mountains, but I never made it past them. I never made it off the plateau.