video (with possible action for olivine)

[cometkin]

[It's just about sunset in the hills overlooking Olivine and we can see Rose Universe putting up a very special tent alongside the Universes' caravan. How special is this tent?

Well, for one thing, it's got the words LOVE SHACK painted in florid script on the side. For another, there's an awful lot of pillows and flowers and things stacked up next to it, waiting to go inside.

Sensual music seems to be playing from an unseen record player. After a few moments of watching Rose putting up the tent, the camera turns around so that we can see Greg Univere's sheepish face.]

Hi. Me and Rose are getting ready to start with the whole breeding part of being breeders, but I've kinda got a problem.

See, a while ago I ended up finding some shiny Pokemon and I know that we're supposed to be able to breed more of 'em, but according to my book about this stuff, the egg groups that Holy Diver and Rock Lobster are in aren't ones that I have Pokemon they can make eggs with. And neither does Rose.

So what I was wondering is if anyone would mind letting us borrow some of their girl Pokemon for eggs? We'd give you one of the babies in return. Holy Diver's a Jellicent and he's in the Amorphous group--and Rock Lobster is a Dwebble and he's in both Bug and Mineral. Their dates don't have to be shiny too, but if you want to try that...

Well. Anyway. Let us know? Now if you'll give me a sec, I need to help Rose with the Love Shack over there.

Comments

[fearinahandfulof]

I have... some? But I don't know which of them would want to have eggs.

[cometkin]

Ask 'em? Pokemon usually know about nodding and shaking heads.

[fearinahandfulof]

I can ask, but Ruby's... picky.

[There's a pause.]

Is that tent for the pokemon?

[cometkin]

Yeah! We figured they'd want to go somewhere nice for their dates. Rose and I are gonna play music outside for them.

[He beams at the camera, proud of their idea.]

Do you want me to send you pictures of Holy Diver and Rock Lobster for your Pokemon to look at? 'Cause I can.

[fearinahandfulof]

Oh.

[Cassandra thinks Ruby might kill them for that.]

I... guess?

[cometkin]

Great!

[And a short while later, Cassandra will receive a bunch of photos of a Shiny Dwebble and a Shiny Jellicent having fun with Greg and Rose's other pokemon.]

I had thought I clicked post, but surprise! I did not

[fearinahandfulof]

Thank you.

[She dutifully shows the photos of the pokemon in question to Ruby, Clara, and Luna, none of whom give any reaction beyond a shrug or equivalent move. They do, however, agree to try breeding with them.

Accordingly, it's a short while later that Cassandra calls Greg back.]

They agree.

Re: I had thought I clicked post, but surprise! I did not

[cometkin]

Great! You've got the warp for Olivine, right? ... no, wait, I think they mentioned you on the news as being a Champion, which means you did all the gyms, right? So you definitely would.

Anyway, we'll see you here! Heck, I'll see if we can give you a late supper or breakfast or something. I'm sure we've still got a bunch of hot dogs.

[fearinahandfulof]

...They did?

[Cassandra's never been great with following the news - plus she'd gone straight from Victory Road to Prom and then been understandably distracted by what had happened there.]

What's a hot dog?

[cometkin]

Yeah. Whenever someone beats the Elite Four, they mention it on the radio news! Probably the TV news too, I think, but we get radio signals better than TV on the road.

A hot dog is, uh... you've got sausages where you come from, right? It's a kind of sausage. It's not really made from dogs, that's just the name. I think it's mostly made from pig meat. Or I guess here they probably use science to make it.

[fearinahandfulof]

Oh.

[That's... awkward.]

Why do they call them hot dogs?

[cometkin]

[Greg's expression is that of the math lady. You know, the one in that meme? Finally, though, he sighs and shakes his head.]

... I dunno, actually.

[fearinahandfulof]

[Cassandra does not know the meme, alas.]

Oh. All right.

[bestswordmaster]

I spoke with my team. Catherine and Moralta like the idea, so I'll bring them with me next time we meet up. A Galvantula and a Ferrothorn, respectively. Foudroyant was on the fence. She might come around if your Dwebble doesn't mind her nonsense.

I do have a few shiny Pokemon as well, but according to the pokedex they're all in the Field group.

[Felix really has no idea what that means, but he trusts that Greg does.]

[cometkin]

Oh! Well, I could still try to breed 'em with each other, depending on their sex. The Love Shack's open to all pokemon, really. Bring 'em too when you visit.

Thanks, Felix. This is a big help!

[bestswordmaster]

[Felix nods.]

Loog is a male Lycanroc. Mahvash is a Sawsbuck and Marta is a Houndour, both girls. Those are the shiny ones.

[cometkin]

Oh nice! Yeah, you should bring them over here. My book says males can breed more often than females, so we can set up Loog with the both of them and see if anything happens! The book says that if you want shinies to have shiny babies, you gotta have them with a registered breeder. I dunno how they can tell if we're registered, but I guess they can!

[disownedbytime]

[When Morgan pops up on the screen, she's got a Milcery floating near one shoulder and a Misdreavus doing the same near the other, with a pink Frillish lurking in the background and a Vivillion perched on top of her head.]

Hey, welcome to the breeder club! I'm Morgan. Did you say the Pokemon are going on dates? How cute is that? Very cute, is the answer.

I've got three Amorphous ladies here who wouldn't mind meeting your Jellicent! This is Shake the Milcery, Princess the Frillish, and Morgan Jr. the Misdreavus! Can't you see the resemblance?

[She and Morgan Jr. grin into the camera together.]

And my Vivillion buddy Confetti here wants to meet Rock Lobster.

[cometkin]

Oh wow! Her hair looks just like yours, only with pink at the bottom!

Anyway, you should bring them over and we'll see how they get along with the boys! Do you have a warp for Olivine yet? Because otherwise I'll warp to you and pick them up and, uh, stream things to you instead.

[disownedbytime]

Right? She's just like me, too, it's almost eerie. Or should I say, spoooooky?

[She wiggles her fingers in a fashion that's apparently meant to be 'spooky.']

Nope, I haven't been to Olivine yet, we just got to Ecruteak not too long ago! Me and Rainer plan to go on a ghost tour and catch some ghosts. I hope it scares me out of my skin!

[cometkin]

Hahaha. Good luck? I guess you like spooky things, huh? Reminds me a little of Sadie--she's this girl from Beach City who sings in the local band, Sadie Killer and the Suspects. The whole band has this spooky aesthetic--it's really neat.

[breakyourlife]

So you need girls, right?

I have a Phantump. Plus Galvantula and Golisopod in the bug group.

[cometkin]

Those would be great! We can introduce them and see how they get along with Holy Diver and Rock Lobster! My book says they can partner up more often when they're boys, so the two of them might go on dates with a couple people.

[breakyourlife]

Really? that seems kind of unfair for the girls.

[Just because eggs have appeared for him before, doesn't mean he has a clue how any of this works where Pokémon are concerned.]

[cometkin]

I think it's 'cause the girls lay the eggs and that's more tiring.

[breakyourlife]

Huh. I guess that makes sense. Especially since they lay so many.

[He hadn't thought about it that way, and now he kind of wishes he still hadn't.]

[cometkin]

Yeah. The boys get to have all the fun and the girls get to do all the work.

[lifebloomsanew]

[When Greg joins her to set up the breeding tent, Rose takes a little break herself, stepping aside and wiping sweat off her forehead with a grin.]

Isn't it exciting? I hope they like it... And I'm sure friends and other trainers will be happy to offer breeding partners.

[Just think of all the new baby Pokemon they could help bring into the world....]

[cometkin]

[Greg grins and leans against her, companionably.]

I think they will, yeah. And since my book says that you need to have breeders around if you want, uh, the fancy shiny babies or the ones with hidden abilities and that the clutches will be bigger with us there too, I figure we can offer to give our friends date nights for their pokemon, even if they're not gonna breed with ours.

Oh and I think the Oricorios want to try making eggs again, but they also want me to beat Chuck first, because they really want to get Fly.

[lifebloomsanew]

So much goes into breeding! It must be so much more difficult for Pokemon than for humans...

[In Rose's limited experience, it doesn't take two humans that much effort to make babies. No special setting or outside influences at all, really. It's really all very exciting.]

But you're right, of course we can help our friends. If all it takes is us being nearby...

[cometkin]

I mean, I can kinda see how it would be? Because they're so many different shapes and things. I'd almost think different species, except you usually don't get a lot of things that can have babies across species, unless they're really closely related ones...

[Greg has been thinking a lot about this stuff. He's been really serious about reading his breeder's handbook. He's looking thoughtful when he adds,]

My book says that one of the big theories for why having a registered breeder around matters is because of trust. Like, they trust us to take care of them while they're busy, so they can relax more, which makes for better clutches. I.. think I like that? I mean, trust is important.

[lifebloomsanew]

Oh, I don't know...we're two different very different species, and we managed!

[More or less. It had all, eventually, worked out. But Rose thinks that there's more than just biology at play when it comes to these things anyway.]

But that makes sense about trust, it's a very vulnerable time for a living thing.

[cometkin]

[Greg opens his mouth, then closes it abruptly. It's true. They did. And Rose... didn't survive them doing it. But he doesn't want to argue about that now, so he's not going to bring it up.

She's here, alive with him now. That's the important part.]

Yeah, it really is.

[He scratches his beard.]

Man, though. I dunno if we should put in candles or not. They'd also help set the mood, but it'd be real easy for them to get knocked over.

[lifebloomsanew]

Hmmm, it does seem like just asking for an accident...

[Rose purses her lips in thought, an idea flitting around the edges of her mind. Mood lighting is important after all.]

Oh! I know! Wait right here!

[She disappears into the caravan in a cloud of pink and returns a few minutes later clutching a magazine.]

What about this?

[She holds out the open magazine for Greg and points to an ad for a night sky light.]

[cometkin]

[Greg's eyes go very wide and seem to sparkle.] Oh man, yes! That's perfect.

[It really fits with his chosen space aesthetic.]

[nastyboy]

[Gasp.... Love Shack...]

It seems as though you already have plenty of offers for possible dates, and I wish you well with them all. I think I only have Bug and Mineral types on my end.

Still.... You are quite brilliant. We should have thought of a tent like that for our own companions.... Are all of those pillows meant to go inside of it?

[cometkin]

Yeah! But maybe next time. Or, well, this time? The book says that boy pokemon can breed multiple times a month, so if you wanted to try and Rock Lobster's still up for it...

Though, I dunno. He might be kinda tired after all of this.

And yeah, most of those pillows are going inside! Gotta make it nice and comfy!

[nastyboy]

We will see how he feels, then. These sort of things are important, and cannot be rushed. We are fortunate that companions like Rock Lobster can let us know so easily.

[True with farm animals, Paliens, and people alike... probably.]

Are there any other things you add? Some of my boyfriends are breeders, so I'm wondering if maybe they would find this kind of thing helpful as well..."

[cometkin]

Well, we're gonna play some mood music. And we're thinking maybe scented candles, if we can trust the pokemon not to knock 'em over by accident.

[nastyboy]

Mood music and scented candles... I see. It is quite the romantic setting, I have to agree.

[At least, you know, from what Dimitri knows of romance. Which is perhaps more romantic an idea than usual, on account of... experiences with nothing, and then So Many Boyfriends.]

Thank you for the advice. If we discover anything else for those in our teams, I will be sure to let you and your wife know of it. Perhaps it would help you as well.

[cometkin]

Oh man, that would be great.

[In the end, they go for a star lamp instead of scented candles. But it's definitely the kind of thing they're after!]