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[talkyourwayout]

[For one of the first times across the network, Louie is actually using the video feature. Being a human isn't so weird to him anymore, honestly, and besides- He's found something else to be disgruntled by today. The boy in the video feed looks irritated and tired.

It'll be pretty clear to those who've been to Sprout Tower before that it's where Louie's posting from. Specifically, he's standing in front of one of the ladders to the second floor, and even though he can't go up there yet...]

Seriously?

Like it wasn't bad enough I had to go to school to save money on the hotel here? Or, you know, that the center of this tower wobbles so much that looking at it makes me feel sick? But now you're telling me that if I wanted to get up there, I'd have to climb a ladder? This place can keep big monsters in tiny balls but they can't put an elevator in here? Even stairs would have been better!

[He sighs, shaking his head.]

Please tell me this is something unique to Sprout Tower, because I would be okay with skipping the upper floors of this place.

Comments

[text]

[instrumentally]

The monks say that climbing the ladders builds character. I do not know if that is true.

[text]

[talkyourwayout]

I bet they do. Adults are always saying how hard work "builds character."

[And, true, he's learned that sometimes that is indeed the case, but...]

I just don't see what life lessons a ladder is going to give me.

[instrumentally]

It will teach you how to climb a ladder.

[talkyourwayout]

I

Sure, yeah. I've climbed a ladder before, though.

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[epitaffio]

[It's this kid again, huh...?]

I think it's just because that's an old building. These sorts of places usually think tradition is more important than, you know... modern conveniences like that. I'm honestly kind of surprised you can even post from there...

[At least Doppio doesn't seem like he's judging him! Or... thinking much of him one way or another. Or thinking much, period.]

[talkyourwayout]

Yeah, I guess so. I just don't see why you can't mix that two!

I don't know if I'm supposed to be posting from here or not. It's not like I thought I needed to ask.

[epitaffio]

That's just what it's like in places that are all about tradition, I guess. I kind of get it, I think? When you're used to doing things a certain way, you probably figure you don't need to change.

... Even if it'd make things way easier, like with elevators. Then again, maybe they're afraid of elevators...

[talkyourwayout]

Yeah, people get stuck in there ways, that's true. It's just kind of frustrating.

[Although judging by the yawn that follows, there may be a reason for that frustration, in addition to the lack of convenience.]

Why would someone be afraid of elevators? Afraid of heights, maybe, but that's definitely not the case if they've got this tower set up.

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[songstressedout]

Well it's a pretty old and traditional building, right? They probably just don't want anything like that there. It wouldn't be very traditional if there was an elevator.

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[talkyourwayout]

Okay, but adding an elevator wouldn't take away all the things that are traditional about the building, would it? And they'd probably get a more people to visit if it weren't for the ladder-climbing.

[Honestly, the points being made about tradition make sense to Louie, but he's also been traveling for two weeks straight. That's new even for his adventure-filled life. Frankly, he's very tired and cranky.]

[songstressedout]

It might take some of it away, actually... and in the first place, if you consider how old the building is, adding something like an elevator in could do more harm than good.

[talkyourwayout]

...Okay, I'll take that second point, yeah.

Still! It'd be nice if it were easier to get up there, you know?

[video]

[lightningfang]

[Oh, Razor knows this place! That kid is going about it all wrong, though.]

Very many 'mons there! Big fuzzy bats with heart noses. Rats, birds, bears... Lots of ghosts.

You don't climb? Climbing is fun. Jumping from high places, also! Um... But maybe not here... No wings.

[talkyourwayout]

There's bears in here...? Weird. And no, climbing is not fun. It's tiring.

You had wings? Where you're from, I mean.

[lightningfang]

Well... I think bears. Very small... Always dizzy.

[Razor thinks this kid does not appreciate the joy of running around like a wild animal. But he won't say that, because it's rude, or something. Socializing is hard.]

Oh! Not real, like birds. Humans make them. Makes falling slow.

[talkyourwayout]

Always dizzy...? That's weirdly specific.

[Then again, he supposes so is a cat that produces money, and he accepted that easily enough.]

Oh! Okay, yeah, kind of like a parachute, right?

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[fingersandteeth]

Retrofitting old buildings can get pretty expensive and if they're monks, they might not have the cash. I mean, they are Asian-style monks, so the vow of poverty might not apply, but I can't think any kind of monk would be *rich*.

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[talkyourwayout]

Oh, okay, yeah that's true. At least it's a better reason than the tradition thing, even if I wouldn't be surprised if that plays a part, too.

Re: Text

[fingersandteeth]

Well yeah. 'Tradition' provides a handy public excuse not to, while 'we're too poor to' might be just as accurate, but more embarrassing.

[Video]

[floatsaway]

Well, there's actually a reason for that, I think! [Hello, resident Japanese girl, here to give you a bit of a history and architecture lesson.]

Given that the tower greatly resembles a five-storied pagoda from where I'm from, I think the design is intentional. Most pagodas only have the central column, and they're not meant to be climbed, or even lived in most times...but worshipped like a monument. It's why they don't have windows, stairs, or any sort of means to climb them usually. At least back home in Japan, ehehe.

Obviously, since this is the city's tourist attraction, and a place of training, it's built differently...so I guess there had to be a means of getting up and down through the varying platforms, and maintaining the architecture and overall design of the pagoda...ladders would suit it best. Putting in stairs would probably ruin the design completely.

[talkyourwayout]

[Louie looks ready to be annoyed with another explanation, "tradition and all that" - but this particular speech actually gives him some frame of reference, and a lot more detail. He blinks a few times, almost stunned, then gives a small smile.]

That actually makes sense. And it's pretty cool! Japan's not somewhere my family's been to, yet, but-

Well, no, my brother was there a few months ago. That's right.

-Anyway, thanks for filling me in.

[floatsaway]

[Ah, it always makes her happy to hear people have visited her homeland. Being a native and all that, Ochako is delighted to share her history with others, because she's so proud of it. Plus, it is cool!! Or at least she thinks so.]

Yeah!! And did you know? There are theories stating the one central column actually made the pagodas withstand even a major earthquake!! So many of them are still standing even today, and there've been plenty of reeeeally bad earthquakes throughout history.

Ehehe, you're making me want to go visit the Tower myself later, maybe after some training, I think.

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[islandshore]

[And here we have a silver-haired 20-something. He offers a small, sympathetic smile. He, too, remembers his first trip into the tower. Man, time flies.]

The tower's part of some old town tradition. Guess the monks never thought about modernizing it. Plus, they say a giant Bellsprout holds it all together. Dunno how elevators would interfere with that, but I doubt it'd be pretty.

[Riku shrugs, though. He totally gets Louie's frustration. Violet's never been his favorite place, anyway. Even if that's mostly down to personal biases.]

But you should probably keep your expectations low. At least some of the caves have ladders. Plenty of buildings just have stairs. Until you get a Pokemon big enough to ride on, there's a lot of footwork involved.

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, I thought the Bellsprout thing people were talking about was a metaphor or something... But yeah, okay. If that's true, I can totally give them a pass for not wanting to put an elevator along a giant Pokemon's body.

Eww, oh man... At least stairs are better than ladders. [He pauses a moment- Did he really just say that?] I'm working on training up a Pokemon so I can fly on it, once I get the badge and everything else. That was something people told me about when I got here, so I've made it a goal.

I really hate walking.

[islandshore]

Heh. Not a bad goal to have. Flying turns days worth of travel into hours. But you're gonna have to get a badge to pull it off, unless you're a Breeder. And then you're gonna have to get the HM to travel wider distances.

[Riku brings a hand to his chin, thinking. Kid doesn't like walking, huh? Well, let's see...]

Until then, you could always get a bike. Maybe travel with someone who's got a bigger Pokemon to cover more terrain. But I think in a place like this, you gotta accept a little walking 'til you've seen enough places to use the teleporters effectively.