134th moon [video]

[paladinlost]

Without naming your favorite species or evolutionary line, how would you describe it to convince others to train it?


[People who've visited the Lunar Gym before might recognize tonight's black-on-white backdrop, one of the waiting rooms as seen from a table. The purple lighting betrays Lia the Chandelure's unseen presence, but her teammates are absent. Occasionally, Cecil's torso and arms pass by, usually bearing a broom or a dustpan. Only the sounds of shuffling and sweeping can be heard.]


Or to avoid training it at all costs, if that's more relevant to your situation. I'm in no position to judge, but I am curious.


[And also terribly, terribly bored.]

Comments

[happyhalloween]

Uu. But I like all my friends! [Maria frowns a little, trying to decide which one she'd choose if absolutely forced to.]

... he'll go trick or treating with you and beat up Mr Brock?

[paladinlost]

A Pokémon that enjoys trick or treating and can face Brock, is that so?

[The species' type is potentially reduced, but beyond that... No, he'll need more hints if he wants to guess. What does trick or treating involve again?]

Does he have arms or other limbs that can hold a bag of candy?

[happyhalloween]

[Maria thinks about this.]

I dunno if leaves count.

[paladinlost]

[A very valid question. Cecil ponders that for a moment.]

If their grip is strong enough to hold the bag properly, I'd say they do.

[happyhalloween]

I dunno! We haven't gone trick or treating for candy yet! But he did help me draw over the sleepy grandpa man's face at the party! I made him into a kitty!

[By 'sleepy grandpa man,' she means Solus when he was napping at Prom.]

[islandshore]

Cool fire dragon. You can ride on its back.

But mostly, it's a dragon, and that automatically makes it cool.

[Riku smirks, shrugging his shoulders. What can he say? He's got a Vibe with his team.]

[paladinlost]

Were it not for the riding, one could almost believe you speak of a Turtonator.

[Cecil is not certain a spiky turtle would fit the Vibe, but dragons are dragons.]

[islandshore]

...Oh yeah, Turtonator. Keep forgetting about that one.

[His smirk takes a turn for the sheepish at that.]

Honestly, I need to get up to speed with a lot of the species that've popped up in more recent years. My team got so huge that I just haven't gone outta my way to expand.

[paladinlost]

Considering the size of my team, I feel much the same. ...Yet I may or may not have adopted four new Pokémon within a single month.

[What that last sentence gains in speed, it loses in volume. Four! In a month!!]

Still, despite their respective types, Charizard does look the more draconic of the two. Perhaps an immunity to Ground-types is worth losing the official 'dragon' designation.

[islandshore]

Cecil. How?

[That's... geeze. Riku winces at the mere mental image of juggling four new Pokemon at once.]

And I mean, Charizards can go dragon type with a Mega Stone. The extra strength makes up for the lack of ground immunity, I'd say.

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[schachmeister]

It's difficult picking just one favourite species...

[Cecil, how dare you force him into a choice like this. How can he look into the faces of all his sweet, darling water pokemon and just choose one?]

Uhm. When they die, they create unique ecosystems that can last for decades and may even affect the evolution of different species.

Though I guess that doesn't tell you anything about their trainability. But I thought it was cool.

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[paladinlost]

They have such a long-lasting and wide impact? An delightful choice for those who dream of a future legacy beyond the usual glory from battle.

[The Pokédex would know the name of Armin's species, surely, but that's cheating. And it doesn't sound like a Lapras factoid...]

You speak of a Water-type, I assume. Do they have a secondary type? There's no need to say which one, if so.

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[schachmeister]

Yes, you caught me.

[Not that guessing a water pokemon for anything Armin has in mind is a very daring guess.]

And no, they don't. They are a pure water species.

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[paladinlost]

Certain preferences do tend to shine, after a few years.

[Like, you know, the whole water thing.]

Pure Water-type? There I was, thinking a partial Rock-, Grass- or Poison-type would be most likely to influence its environment so drastically.

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[schachmeister]

Don't discount organic components. They can have an incredible influence on an environment.

I suppose, if you'd like a hint, it's very much a size thing.

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[breakyourlife]

Go watch Whitney fight.

[This is probably a very easy one, but then Steve's never been good at subtlety.]

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[paladinlost]

[Halfway off the screen, Cecil's torso freezes. Now that's a fight he remembers all too well, if not as well as what followed.]

When I won my badge, I could only dry her tears by offering to hold all her bags during her next shopping spree... Perhaps we should have allowed that Miltank to make paste of the whole team after all.

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[breakyourlife]

What, you got to hang out with her? That's not fair!

[There is definite a touch of jealousy in his tone there. Whitney and her Miltank are inspirational despite her less than graceful response to victorious opponents. That definitely sounds more like a bonus prize than punishment to him.]

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[paladinlost]

There were so many bags and boxes blocking my face, it's not as if I could truly enjoy her presence.

[It was not, to be entirely truthful, a fully unpleasant experience, but Cecil sure learned to sympathize with men who have shopaholic daughters that day.]

Few among us had reached Goldenrod, at the time. Perhaps her schedule is now too full for such activities?

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[breakyourlife]

Yeah, maybe.

[Which doesn't make him feel too much better, but he does live in Goldenrod. It's not like he can't watch her gym battles pretty much any time he likes.]

It's not like my Miltanks aren't stronger than hers anyway. Only Bessie's ever fought her, but I bet they could all take her by now.

[nastyboy]

[Dimitri could give a lot of Rat Facts (tm), but he's starting to realize he might, like.... be gaining a reputation here? He might be getting a little too obvious?]

[So instead...]

During the winter months, they are a fine companion in terms of keeping one warm. Despite the concerns a person would have about them being constantly on fire, they are often masters of control over their flame output, and can lower the heat to the point that one can be given very comfortable hugs.

Having someone so strong at your side, able to help you with carrying things, is also nice.

[paladinlost]

[There is no such thing as too obvious! Cecil would have accepted the rat facts with a smile (and a very easy guess)!]

A burning Pokémon that possess great strength yet gives pleasant hugs? I can think of a dozen... But you train a member of the Tepig family, if I recall correctly, thus I must first guess Emboar.

[nastyboy]

Ah... So you recall my partner.

[Dimitri's smile is a little sheepish. Well, he tried!]

I supposed when one knows my team, anything I could say would be easy to pick up on... I thought about giving facts about Gremlin, but that would have been just as obvious.

I appreciate all of my team, but there is something to be said about those that were first with me.

[paladinlost]

We try to be fair, but inevitably the eldest receive more attention over the years, have more opportunities to gain strength or take on responsibilities, and share more memories with us. Still, as long as we offer as much care and love as we can to every Pokémon we raise, surely our fondness for our first companions can be forgiven.

[Cecil's expression has skipped over sheepish to settle upon fond. Everyone knows Rosie is his right hand Clefable, after all.]

[nastyboy]

Indeed... I hope all of mine understand that. All one can do is work hard, and show that they are cared for.

They all are quite talented and incredible, after all, with fascinating things about every one of their species. For example... I cannot say if it is the same for every one of the species, but did you know that there is a particular kind of Palien that can communicate through mist?