victory_road | 01 ✦ Video

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[It could have all been a dream, given the way Izuku wakes up in a bed that isn't his own. It could also very well be the hospital- a fact that wouldn't have been surprising- but the stark lack of a sterile atmosphere leads him to believe otherwise even as he sits up with a start. His heart is hammering in his chest and between his ears with such ferocity that believing this is anything but reality would be difficult...

He isn't afforded much time to collect himself, because someone has noticed he's awake and immediately lept up onto his chest to greet him, his fluffy tail wagging excitedly.

Okay, maybe this is a dream after all.

Everything happens pretty quickly after that. Your usual fair of arrival: Izuku's "mom" comes in the room upon hearing his Eevee chirp at him, ushering him up-and-at'em even as he's stammering questions and trying (and failing) to get her to give him a straight answer. She is in fact not even remotely his mother but she doesn't seem to know that or care, and before he's able to get a word in edgewise he's out the door with a bag over his shoulders. Eevee had taken advantage of the chaos to climb up Izuku's back, sitting pretty on his shoulder as if he belongs there. So what does Izuku do? Well...

He starts to walk, hoping he'll be able to come into a town and maybe someplace more familiar than the route ahead of him. ...only for a Pineco to drop from a tree and attack both him and his Eevee pretty much immediately. It's a pretty sudden and surprising introduction to Pokemon battling before he's even finished reading up on it, leaving him to find a tree to sit down under for a while before anything else can happen. He has the PokeGear, so let's just try to contact someone. Anyone.]

Hello? I don't know if anyone can hear me on this, but it's worth a try...

[He pauses as Eevee pushes his head into the screen's view, hello he's here too.]

My name is Midoriya Izuku. I'm not sure what's happened, but I'm really not where I'm supposed to be right now. My only guess is this all is due to the effects of a Quirk, but I don't remember anything that could have lead to that.

[Unless Shigaraki had some tricks up his sleeve he really wasn't prepared for. Doesn't explain how his injuries have ceased to exist, either.]

I've been reading the guidebook, but it's really just giving me more questions than answers. Not only that, the pet the lady had in her house where I woke up followed me outside and I can't get it to go back home to her. She won't answer the door now so I'm not really sure what to do about that.

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[Izuku takes a moment to let that sink in, particularly the mention of "her own earth". The concept of other worlds isn't completely foreign to him, but it's not something he actually subscribed to being...real, documented science. It's theorized- has been for decades- but there's no concrete proof of it. In a world like his though you'd think that sort of thing would be more common place but, alas.]

Mm...so there are a lot of other people here, then...

[He brings a hand to his face, smudging his thumb and forefinger across his mouth.]

Can you tell me how long you've been here for?

Since very early January, actually. Just barely two months- my friend Razor showed up on the same day, but he's from someplace completely different than Earth. [ Though she remembers it being late summer, when she was taken- another reason the cold affected her so harshly, she assumes. ] We can all communicate on the Network like this, and for some reason the locals don't use it- but so far I've had nothing but helpful encounters with both?

[ And then, it hits her. ]

Oh jesus f- I'm sorry, I totally forgot- uh. I'm called Jinx. I know I haven't been here long, but I do ask a lot of questions, so I'll try to help as best I can.

Edited (amity stop forgetting sentances challenge) 2021-03-02 00:18 (UTC)

[Helpful encounters, kind locals...if that tells him anything, it's that this place seems relatively peaceful. A far, far cry from what he's been dealing with lately, but...it's a relief in some ways too. It means that he can take his time figuring out what's going on without worrying about the safety of everyone being in peril. At least for a short time. He's still plenty worried about what's going on back home, but...what can he do if he's not even there?]

Ah- it's nice to meet you, Jinx-san. I know you said earlier that we're stuck here, but...I really need to get back home. There's something very dangerous happening to my home, so being here is...it's not...

[He tightens his grip on his Gear, causing the plastic to groan beneath scarred fingers.]

[ Jinx tries to keep her voice calm and soothing, but given her own sharp tones it sounds a bit foreign to her own ears. She also decides against pointing out that Americans have few honorifics- he likely needs a piece of home, and she's not going to deny it. ]

I know. A lot of people were taken at bad times. But I've been told that while we're here, time back home seems to... stop? And when you go back things continue, like it never happened. It's still. Bad. But it's not as pressing as you think. The force that brings us here isn't malicious- just... capricious.

[ Admittedly, she's unaware of the fact that it really might as well never happened, with the lack of memories and all. But she also doesn't need that in her life right now. ]

By all means, get your stress out- and I understand if you don't believe me on that either, but I'm afraid that's all I know about that situation. I'm sorry.

[It's something he'll discover with time, maybe even with people requesting they be just called by their name and nothing else. There's no guarantee he won't keep doing it impulsively but for now...Jinx-san she is.

That, though...Izuku leans back against the tree again, still not quite relaxed but maybe a bit less on edge than he was a moment ago. He still seems skeptical, but at the same time it's like Jinx said herself: people here would have nothing to gain from lying. Not unless they just wanted to be blatantly malicious for no reason.]

There isn't really much I can do about it if I'm stuck here right now.

[Which is obvious, but he needs to just hear it aloud. Confirmation for himself.

Eevee huffs and lays his head down against Izuku's shoulder, calming down for the moment from his antics. He can tell his trainer is stressed.]

Don't worry, I believe you. It's just...a lot to think about, I guess. Please don't apologize.

Yeah. It's... it took me a long time to process it, to be honest. I'm not sure I'm done yet. But the nice thing about this place is if you stumble a bit, there's someone willing to help you stand back up.

[ She thinks about Razor, Mr. Joestar, Felix and Dimitri- and then Kid Flash back home. It's hard to tell if she'd be trying this without having met them. She smiles just a bit at the eevee. ]

And of course, you have your pokémon. You're a team, now.

[A team, huh?

Izuku glances over at his Eevee out of the corner of his eye, rubbing his cheek fluff with a finger. It causes the little guy to chirp and press back against him, bunting his forehead against Izuku's jaw.]

Everyone has been really nice to me...which I appreciate. I'll make sure to pay that kindness forward as soon as I figure out where to go from here.

Oh- the routes are thankfully pretty straightforward at the point you're at now. Cherrygrove's a peaceful little place, but there's more to do in the next city- Violet? It's just the cold you'll have to worry about, and funds. You can earn some money by winning battles with other trainers, and the places here will offer a week of work at a time- if you leave before the week's up you will get in trouble though.

[ ... Wait shit he has powers. Almost immediately, she winces. ]

... Has. Anyone mentioned that our powers don't work here? Because they don't- learned or naturally born. We're all brought down to this world's basic human, essentially.

[Hm, she has a point. He isn't exactly dressed for the cold right now and since New Bark isn't being forthcoming with letting him stay inside...boy. Traveling to the next town might be a challenge, especially when he doesn't yet realize just how long of a walk on foot it really is.]

You mentioned fighting before. Something fell out of a tree onto us earlier but my...Eevee fought with it before I could do anything. I think he wanted me to direct him, but he figured it out on his own.

[He doesn't know all your moves yet he's sorry.

Jinx mentions powers next and right away Izuku's expression falls.]

...yeah. Someone told me they don't earlier, and ever since I haven't been able to reach my Quirk at all.

Oh- right, yeah. That was a pokémon battle. In this world, our pokémon do the fighting for us, but we need to command them. Your Gear has an app called the PokéDex, which can tell you more about your partner there, and what he's capable of- his moves, what hurts him most and what he's better against.

There's eighteen 'types'- like. Elemental affinities, basically? But more elaborate. Each type has it's own strengths and weaknesses- water puts out fire, fire burns grass and bugs, grass absorbs water. Things like that. He and his moves are aligned to these types too- they're usually attacks, but sometimes they're techniques that inflict statuses like in a video game. Pokemon can have up to two types, which provides a combination of various strengths and weaknesses.

Pokemon can battle on their own, but those with trainers prefer to receive commands from their trainers- so it's up to you to come up with good strategies for them.

[ After a moment, she looks off screen and calls for something. A few moments later, a doll-like butterfly... fairy? flits over happily, and waves at the camera. But also, she may not realize she's rambling a bit- she's a nerd, and nerds gotta nerd. ]

This is Freesia, she's a Ribombee. Her typings are bug and fairy- so she's weak to flying types, because birds eat bugs, and strong against dragons, since... well. Dragons die in fairy tales, presumably. It can get pretty abstract.

[ At his sorrow, she sighs- it's just as sad as her lack of magic was in January. ]

I haven't had my magic either. It. It feels like it's gone completely. But a girl I know- Akane- she told me that there are small moments when we can get our powers back. So... there's that at least?

[Even if it's a lot of information to be given in one sitting, Izuku listens to everything Jinx says like he's in class. He only wishes he had a notebook and something to write with...he has a meager amount of what he assumes is this world's money on him, he's found, so he'll have to use a little to buy that once he's made sure he and his Eevee have all of their basic needs met. For now, he tries to retain as much as he's able. Maybe if he's lucky the Gear will have had a record function keeping tabs on this conversation for him or something.

As she explains, Izuku navigates to the Pokedex on his Gear, noting that the entry for Eevee is filled with information. Pineco is illuminated, but all of the text is either ??? or greyed out...mostly because he hasn't yet caught one.]

Eevee is "normal" type...which isn't super effective against anything. [Well that sounds bad.] It doesn't effect ghosts either...and it's weak to fighting. [Also sounds bad.] I think that's right?

[Also listen, Izuku is also a nerd. He is no stranger to long-winded rambling. Hell, if he'd been here as long as Jinx he'd be doing the exact same thing she is right now. It's funny being on the other end of it, especially when he doesn't even notice his mumbling half the time.]

It's going to take me a while to learn all of this, but at least most of it seems pretty straight forward.

[More or less.]

Small moments...sounds like you haven't been around for one yet, I'm assuming.

It's a lot but I feel like once you start putting it to practice, it comes to you easier. Normal types might sound rather... well, normal, but they're pretty good jack-of-all-trades! Like your eevee there- depending on what you do, he could evolve into a number of different types.

Oh! Speaking of, evolution. Most pokémon can transform into a more powerful, mature form at least once- some will also do that twice. The 'how' varies too, but it's mostly built on how strong they are from what I can tell. I know I'm dumping a lot on you, but when I first witnessed it it was. Really, really startling? And I didn't know what was going on until my teacher told me.

[ At his question, she shakes her head. Freesia pats her head with a tiny little paw and a sympathetic trill. She doesn't know why Jinx is upset, but she needs to be supportive!!! ]

Akane said something about it being... certain weekends? And possibly predictable, but we only talked about that briefly, and that was back in the middle of January. But she said those times are... ... She told me that she'd been somewhere in Johto at the start of one weekend, and wound up on the islands south of the continent at the end of it somehow. I'm not sure what to expect when it comes around.

[Izuku's Eevee makes a funny little sound at the mention of evolution- a sort of brrr as he shakes his head and ducks a little into his own neck ruff. It isn't that he's opposed to the idea of evolution...he just isn't sure he's ready yet. Having so many things to evolve into...it's a little overwhelming, and also not a good example for how Pokemon usually evolve, which Izuku will eventually find out for himself.

The whole idea of evolution isn't new, but Jinx makes it sound like it happens literally instantaneously. That's weird. But then again, Izuku comes from a world chock full of weird, so maybe it's less surprising than one would think. He's got a sentient little fox thing on his shoulder right now for goodness sake.]

No, it's okay. I think I'd rather know about it ahead of time so I can be ready for when it happens. That does sound startling though...I can't imagine seeing that and not knowing what it is.

[Suddenly your small cat is a lion or something, congrats.]

It sounds like a lot of things here aren't predictable, I'm noticing.

[ o h no she made the eevee sad- ]

Oh- hey, no, you don't have to do anything you don't want to, it's okay. My espurr and zubat don't want to evolve yet too. Or at all, with the espurr's case. It's okay.

[ Though she understands. Growing up isn't quite like evolution, but it's scary as heck- especially with so many options. Her too, eevee. Her too. ]

Yeah... it was. Really something, honestly. Just a flash of light and suddenly Poppy was bigger and had... limbs.

[ So, yes, exactly that. Sorry Izuku. ]

--Oh, you're just out of New Bark Town, right? There's some good pokémon to catch around- if they challenge you, it's... kind of like an aggressive interview. They want to prove they're good to take with, and also size you up as a trainer. You can also ask them if they want to come along too, though! A lot of my earlier pokémon were invited rather than caught through battle, actually.

It's... both crazier and not as crazy as home. I'm hoping that with time maybe things will make more sense?

[Izuku smiles softly, reaching a hand over to gently stroke the top of his Eevee's head. He might still be getting used to the whole idea of Pokemon and partnering with them, but he isn't heartless or someone who doesn't love animals as much as the next guy. It seems to help, especially with the way the Pokemon immediately buries his face into Izuku's hand.]

We'll just have to worry about that later, huh?

[Said to Eevee, who...he really needs to think of a good name for if they're going to be together for a while, he's realizing. Poppy is a cute one...hmm.]

I'm on the road just past the town. Something that I'm pretty sure was a pinecone with eyes dropped on top of us about as soon as I made it out here, but it's gone by now.

[He's very lucky it wasn't high enough level to explode.]

Ah- I saw a few of those, but didn't catch any. I already had my hands full with four, considering I was just as new as you were. One wasn't native to the area, she just showed up- and the other two, espurr and bounsweet, are fairly common. Some only come out in the day, and some only at night... it probably left because it wasn't caught.

[ Still, she can't help but smile a bit as he interacts with the eevee. He's adjusting faster than she did, it looks like. Good for them both, honestly. ]

[They do seem to be getting along well right off the bat, even if his Eevee was a bit energetic for how anxious he was when he woke up. If anything though, he really helped to calm him down. He appreciates that.]

You had four? That seems like a lot...

[Famous last words]

When you're on the road, you can have up to six of them on hand- but I have even more now... twenty-one, to be specific. When I'm not traveling it's easier to give everyone a little one on one time, and they all get along fine for the most part. My companion's got quite a few, too- but not as many as I do. ... [ softly: ] they just seem so happy, I can't turn them away.

[ Fuckin' softie. ]

It- it's good to have a decent variety of types, though. Especially if you're taking on the gym challenge.

[Izuku is still thinking of Pokemon as pets in spite of himself, so the thought of having more than two or three is...daunting. It will make sense to him eventually though. It was strange enough seeing Katsuki with more than one in his company...clearly that's just a Thing you end up doing here.

And it becomes clearer the moment she mentions a "challenge".]

Gym challenge...is that a competition?

Sort of. They're official battles against trainers who are considered masters of a specific type. Upon victory, you're given a badge to prove you won- though most matches are also broadcasted, I've noticed, kind of like a sporting event- and if you collect all the badges of a region, you get to challenge the Elite 4, said to be the best trainers in the land.

Off-worlders who beat the Elite 4 are given the opportunity to make their own gym too- but you need the "Indigo" League badges rather than the "Aurora" League.

[ Unfortunately she hasn't gotten to challenge a single gym yet- things just keep happening and it's awful!! ]

[Okay yeah that definitely sounds like something some people he knows would 100% be doing.]

I'll have to look into it more...what do you think?

[Asked to the Eevee, who gives a little brief hop in place on his front paws. He seems to like the idea, especially since it would give him more of a chance to do some real battling, something Izuku hasn't quite engaged in yet.]

I'm hoping I'll be able to study more about how things work here once I get to the next town. It's better than just sitting around, anyway.

Each city has a library! I... don't actually know Cherrygrove too well, didn't stay too long... for the same reason, actually. Staying there felt so... stagnant for me. I think I lingered long enough to get a delivery and then I booked it.

[ And then she kept booking it and that's why she spent most of February with a cold. Don't copy her, Izuku!!! ]

Still, it seemed nice- I might swing by again once the snow melts. I bet it's beautiful in the spring.

Every city has one...?

[Well that is ridiculously convenient. That means even if he ends up skipping a few cities when he groups up with Katsuki and Kirishima, he'll hopefully still be able to go there and educate himself once everything else has been sorted out. Something to definitely make a note of.]

I'll keep an eye out for it, in that case. Honestly, I haven't traveled any of this area yet and it already feels so big somehow...even bigger if you're traveling from place to place on foot.

Well, yeah- it'd be stupid if only one city in an entire country had a library. ... And dangerous- Library of Alexandria type of dangerous.

[ Assuming his Earth ever even had that tragedy. ]

I know what you mean. It took two weeks to get to Violet City, and that was with only one day of delay for a... well, it was a cooking contest, but they brought in viewers to see and try the dishes live? I wanted to participate, but you had to have a pokemon involved somehow and I only just arrived and wasn't sure about. Anything. Oh well, next time.

I probably would have done the same thing, honestly. It would be a little overwhelming to try to join a contest as soon as you got here...

[And with like, one or two Pokemon to choose from to boot.]

Where are you now, if you don't mind me asking?

01 ✦ Video

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once she gets goin she cannot stop

She is with like minds talking to izuku lbr

thank goodness!!!

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