[video]

[sonrise]

[The teen in the footage seems to be having a bit of trouble keeping his hold on the Pokegear steady. A little bit of this is Varian being unfamiliar with such a device, but more than that, he's just pretty emotive with his body language. He keeps it in check enough to hopefully not induce any motion sickness, at least...]

Ahem. So - hi there, and everything, but... Are we sure there's no way to get home? I've been looking back over these entries, and I haven't seen anything about leaving voluntarily. But how deep has this been looked into? I mean, with the technology here, like Pokeballs and the warp pads, I feel like there's at least a chance it could be figured out.

And I need to get back. I'm sure I'm not the only one, either! I've got an important job to do, and a raccoon who needs to be fed. Plus, Pokemon are pretty cool, but they also seem to fall pretty firmly into the "magic" category, and... That's not really my thing. [He also misses his dad, so much, but he's not ready to talk about that yet.] Now, I'm an alchemist, a man of science, and I'm also sure I'm not the only one of those here. Who has the experience and wants to help?

Comments

[crystalmaster]

Hi there! I'm wondering the same thing, how much this has been explored. It sounds like this has been going on for years, with people getting sent here, and just about all they really know is that sooner or later, they blink out of here and presumably go back home. That doesn't really satisfy me, but so far I haven't heard much else.

[Satisfy.... Any use of that word can't help but make him think of someone he knew back home. Someone he had tried repeatedly to reach out to, but had failed to move. Maybe he had thought Radley wasn't sincere, or maybe he hadn't liked him, or ... well, it didn't really matter. Radley tried not to think about him and the pain he had caused, especially when he had abandoned Radley in the dyne mines, but it was impossible not to think about him sometimes. The hurt is still raw and Radley isn't over it by a long shot. He wakes up screaming some nights, remembering what he went through before being rescued.

He tries to switch gears before he gets too lost in his private horrors.]

I hear you on not being into magic. I'm not sure what Pokemon are, but they sure do seem to have abnormal abilities compared to regular animals, don't they? Cats and dogs and rabbits ... they'd never survive a Pokemon battle where burns and cuts are the order of the day. I'm not comfortable with battling myself, even knowing the Pokemon can come through it and even like it for some reason. But I haven't had much choice in the areas between towns. They just come at you and you kinda have to protect yourself. And then I keep running into kids who wanna battle. Some adults too. Saying No does not go over well.

[And he gets that, on some level. Refusing to duel back home had rather the same result. Radley's love for animals isn't the only reason why he's uncomfortable with battling, but he's not about to get into his past here, with a complete stranger.]

I promised my girl I'd never make her battle unless I absolutely had to, but she always just jumps right in. I get the feeling it's more about protecting me and defending my honor, even though she seems to like battling anyway.

[Eevee pops into the feed to say Hello.]

[sonrise]

Really? I didn't know that... Hmm.

On the one hand, if people have been working on this for years and not gotten results, I mean, you can't argue with the facts. But...! Well, who's to say they knew what they were doing, right?

[These are the somewhat desperate words of a young man who really wants to believe he can get himself home.]

It can't hurt to look into it more. I have to try. [That part's more muttered to himself, though, before he tries to move on with the flow of conversation.] Yeah, I've seen some animals back home that have amazing skills, but nothing like these creatures' abilities. It sure seems like magic to me.

And yeah, there seems to be a lot of focus on battling and catching Pokemon-- It's like the entire society is built around it. To be fair, given the things they can do and most people's fascination with magic, that does make sense.

[crystalmaster]

[Radley chuckles sadly.]

I get wanting to think that. And I don't plan to give up. But it seems like it's people from all walks of life trying. I'm sure at least some of them knew what they were doing.

[He nods in agreement to the thoughts on Pokemon.]

Magic, supernatural.... Something different from regular animals, that's for sure.

Back home, a lot of society is built around a powerful card game. My business ventures tie directly into it too. So it's not so hard to get used to a society built around these animals. Although I'm more interested in seeing how people use them in ways other than battling. People are way too bloodthirsty sometimes.

[He had seen it in some of his townspeople's eyes, that eagerness for the nightly card duels and the sadistic appreciation of pain and loss and wondering who would be dragged to the mines. Here, at least, people generally don't seem interested in actually watching Pokemon get hurt, and anyone who does seem to like that is shunned or arrested. But the general populace still has that interest in seeing fights. It's an odd distinction Radley is still trying to grasp. But, like home, the Pokemon agree to fight and even want to. That's comforting in some way, at least. They're not being forced. The people back home weren't forced either. But even though they'd agreed, Radley is still haunted by the outcomes. No one was supposed to die....]

[sonrise]

A society built around a card game? Huh, that's-- Didn't except that one. Where I'm from, it's just normal. [He immediately releases he probably just put his foot in his mouth a little, and winces.] But of course, society being centered around one thing would be normal for a person whose home is like that, too. Um, I just meant I'm used to things being different.

And, to be fair, at least Pokemon battles don't seem to involve a lot of actual blood. In fact, the way it's so easy for the nurses here to heal them is really advanced!

Video;

[nightyorb]

I hear you on that. I don't know how I can help, but I want to. There's stuff I need to get back home to too.

[His friends, his mom, a Nightmare king to put a stop to.]

[sonrise]

You want to help? That's great! Uh- What can you do?

[nightyorb]

Well, I don't really know anything about plane shifting or, uh, technology that can do the same thing, but I am a private investigator. If there is any info or stuff we need to get from this place, I can do that.

[sonrise]

Oh, you're an investigator! Well, hey, that would come in handy for all kinds of research-- I mean, I have so many questions about this place, and if I can't get home I'd like to at least figure out some of those answers.

[video]

[paladinlost]

The possibility of a way out has been investigated very deeply, believe me. I've been in this world for over eleven years, and every potential lead or rumor we heard has been proven false.

[Cecil starts counting them on his fingers.]

Earning eight badges? Anyone can try it for themselves, these days. Earning sixteen? Easily achievable with some preparation. Defeating the Elite Four? We've become so numerous we have our own league. Meeting with Arceus, the closest this land has to a god? It likes treats and it seems to like us, but it does not fulfill that specific request.

[sonrise]

[Oh man, Varian's hopes are going south real, real fast. Especially because-]

People have actually met Arceus? And fed it treats?

[paladinlost]

It personally interfered to ensure the clash between two maddened legendaries would not kill us all. Treats were the least we could do.

[Obviously. Basic manners, right there, even if they were stuck on a battlefield with limited supplies.]

Such opportunities are extremely rare, but as it involved an invasion by two foreign criminal groups and months of alarming incidents, trying to trigger another and beg to be sent home is not a feasible solution.

[islandshore]

Gonna just chime in as another member of the old timer's club.

[He says, despite being in his mid 20's.]

Technology's definitely not the issue. It's something more... man, I don't even know if magic's the right word for it. But I'd say the less you worry about things back home, the easier it'll be. Time tends to just... freeze. Plus, people sometimes show up from all over the timeline.

Kinda given up trying to use logic to sort it all out. Gets pretty hard after you deal with weird dream castles and impassable ledges.

[sonrise]

I see...

[And it just keeps getting less hopeful. Varian is starting to feel kind of defeated, but the point made about time freezing back home is at least reassuring.]

I guess if no one is wondering where I am back home, that's not so bad. I- I don't know, it's just hard to accept it, but I appreciate you telling me what you know.

[islandshore]

Believe me, I get it. It's inconvenient, right? You're in the middle of something, and the next thing you know, you're plucked from your world and dropped into a place where there's constant music, you're expected to go out and "be the best," and the locals can't even explain why it's happened.

[Riku folds his arms, quiet a moment. Sora'd be better at the pep talks...]

Best thing I can say is... it's not the worst place to be. Most of the time, it's pretty safe. And there's plenty of tech to study if that's more your thing. Pokéballs, for one.

Video

[neverbreaks]

[ Luisa isn't sure how much she could really help regarding this, so doesn't know if she should even comment. But something he says makes it difficult not to. ]

You really think the Pokemon are magic?

[ Hoenstly, it does kind of make sense. She hadn't really thought about it before. ]

[sonrise]

[After the string of bad news he's been getting, this response is a welcome change of pace!]

Yeah. I mean, they definitely defy the laws of nature and science. Literally, in fact: Have you seen how the water ones just keep shooting off streams of water? There's nowhere it's coming from!

The only thing that I know to completely defy the way the world is supposed to work like that? Magic.

[neverbreaks]

[ She hums thoughtfully. She can't entirely argue, given her own family's magic. As accepted it is in the Encanto, what they could do did challenge what was considered natural. And she didn't really want to argue.

And yet... ]

But...these Pokemon...they're a natural part of this world, aren't they? People study the abilities and essence of these creatures all the time. That is part of their science.

Even if it's not something that happens naturally in the worlds that we're from...aren't they just part of the laws of nature here?

[orangesmith]

Not as far as I know.

[Look, Narancia's still annoyed about that, even if he's sort of accepted that he's not going home anytime soon. Not ideal, but what exactly can he do about it?]

Look, the local god Pokémon god being wants us to be here for whatever reason, so we're stuck here.

[sonrise]

So I hear. I'm trying to get my head around that... I mean, at least if I'm stuck in a different world, it's one that gives me a lot to look into.

The technology here is really something, to be honest. Pokeballs, this Gear... I've never seen things like them, and figuring out how they work-- That will be fun. Plus, the Pokemon themselves-- Like I said, I'm not a fan of magic, but come on. They're cute.

Video;

[schachmeister]

[Armin frowns a bit, a very sympathetic frown. He remembers feeling like this. And he certainly wishes he had better news to report but--]

As far as I know, it has been looked into. Even by people who had a lot of experience travelling to other dimensions, but they never discovered a way home.

If-- I know this isn't much, but if it gives you some comfort, please know that no time is passing in your world. Your job and, uh, your raccoon will be fine. They won't even know you were gone.

[sonrise]

No, that does help. Kind of, I mean-- You're sure about that, right? That time will be stopped when I'm here?

[schachmeister]

Yes, I am sure of that. I understand your concerns. I had many of the same concerns when I first got here too. But over the years I've been here, I've had other people from my world come to this one too, who assured me that I had never been absent from it. Plus, I know of some people who were here, went back to their own worlds for a while, and then came back, and they too confirmed that they were never actually missing.

video

[dejabrewed]

An alchemist, hm? Let's hope you're not like the one I know of.

[ sandalphon does not want to think about the other alchemist, thank you very much. ]

But I am a semi-recent arrival, one who has returned from a previous stay. It was not voluntary at all, unfortunately, but from what I can tell you, the process was rather... calm. You simply wake up as normal like any other day. [ sandalphon had to stop to think about how to phrase this next sentence. ] The only difference is that you don't even remember anything of what occurs here. It's only when you return that the memories are given back. It's inconvenient, if you ask me.

[sonrise]

[Varian doesn't like the sound of that. No one should give alchemy a bad name, after all!]

Why, what's the alchemist you know like?

Hmm, not remembering being here would definitely be inconvenient, yeah. Although, it might be for the best, I'm not sure many people back home would believe me if I could tell them about this place-- And I don't blame them.

[dejabrewed]

[ there's debate that crosses over the angel's face, but it fades as quickly as it comes. ]

An experience. [ the blunt tone of voice gives so much away, doesn't it? ]

It is for the best- but for a world like mine that's had instances of dimensional rifts, the belief aspect of the explanation would be minimal at best. It would be the explanation of our abilities being stripped away that would be the difficult part. For most this isn't an issue, but for my kind, it is immense.