victory_road | Third Spell: Mostly Video Catch-All.

Who: Keldor
Where: Dark Cave; Route 32
When: Over the course of a week [Dark Cave happens earlier].
Summary: Keldor goes pokemon spelunking in Dark Cave for rock types, then it's off to Route 32 in the hopes of getting a Mareep.
Rating: PG in case of language
Log: Dark Cave

Dark Cave is... Yeah. It's pretty dark, but Keldor's smart and, before setting off to find a rock type or two picked up some of the tools he'll need to find his way around [like helmet with a light], and the video feed mostly just captures a lot of lit up cave floor.

So far, that's all there is to see, save for the sight of Gingko the Dartrix. But the audio captures a lot of flapping sounds as Zubats and Noibats fly overhead, startled somewhat by the light. They get ignored. It's Geodudes and Rockruffs Keldor's after, and Gingko's ready to help.

Route 32

No need for helmets or head lights. It's sunny out at the moment so no need for artificial light sources.

Keldor's been told that there's a flock of Mareep to be found not too far from Violet City at the start of the route, but the only flocks to be found are flocks of Pidgeys and Starlies, and he's not there for them [though maybe he should be, as getting one of them now means he'll have a candidate for air transportation later on].

Unfortunately out here Keldor doesn't have anything with a type advantage, but he's not letting that stop him from getting what he's after and getting some training in; especially for Nami, his recently-acquired Alolan Raichu.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Radley jumps. "Oh boy. Are you trying again?"

Keldor grits his teeth.

"......yes."

"Piii-III-ii..," the Pidgey says.

Breaking out took a lot of energy out of it, and before it can respond, it's smacked with another ball.

Stay inside this time...

Radley watches. Evie's ears are twitching.

This time though, the wiggling is brief. That one act of defiance was too much, and the Pidgey is—this time—successfully captured.

"You fought well," Keldor says to the ball before it does the disappear into his storage box. "Your presence on the team was well-earned."

Having sand kicked in your face can be worth it.

"Congratulations," Radley smiles.

His Pokemon cheer.

"Thank you."

It's been quite the day, he notes, stretching.

"Had it been stronger it would have used up the last of my balls. I have only two left."

"They really only work once?"

He has never understood that game mechanic.

"That has been my experience."

The pokeball economy would grind to a halt if it worked like it does in the anime. Reusable balls = no one buying new ones that much.

But then, the games are full of things that don't really make sense.

Radley is thinking of that too, being a businessman.

"Well, that's an effective way to keep people buying them more often."

Definitely annoying for the consumers, though.

And annoying for Keldor, who's more familiar with the idea of things being built to last; of having some kind of permanence. Yes, there's still things that have a limited number of uses, but generally things in Eternia are "built to last".

"Yes. They are certainly getting a good portion of my money."

Try not to grumble too loudly, Keldor m'boy.

"I can imagine. Well, maybe someday someone will invent a reusable one."

He wonders if the big companies would actively try to prevent such a thing from hitting the market.

It'll probably be "reusable" in the sense of "you get more than one use out of it, but no more than [predefined number] of uses".

"I will be grateful. I am not opposed to spending money, but it seems like single-use is such a ... waste."

Bet he'll have lots to say about all kinds of "single-use" items. He'd join a movement to promote things like reusable drinking straws just because it's more like what he's used to.

That would still be better than just one.

"It sure is. As a businessman myself, I get why they'd wanna do it that way, but still, I'm not thrilled with it since I need to use them too."

Not that he's had any trouble getting his to go in. His Pokemon are all overjoyed to be his. They don't like staying in the balls longer than it takes to register them, though.

It's just... Yeah, he doesn't get it. Also this world is weird, etc.

"At any rate, I will need to procure more."

He checks his gear to see how much he has.

"I have sufficient funds for that and any other supplies I am low on."

"That's good you've got the funds. I remember really struggling with getting much money at first."

"It is still a struggle."

Finding trainers and ~~taking their lunch money~~ battling them for cash isn't always easy, if no one's around to battle. And he hasn't seen anyone else out here all day.

"But I did hear something about a 'pay day' that helps."

Keldor eavesdropping in on network chatter? Maaaybeeee...

"Yeah!" Radley grins. "It's a move some Pokemon can be taught with a TM. I'm getting it for Evie."

Evie cheers and raises a paw.

"It costs 6000, though," Radley says apologetically. He can afford it, but Keldor probably can't. Although Radley would be happy to get it for him, since it's only available for a limited time.

"That is a rather dear sum of money," he notes, though from the sounds of it, with judicious usage of the move, it could eventually pay for itself over time. "But it may be worth the trouble of getting it."

And he even has a pokemon that could learn it, too.

"I'm sure it would be," Radley says. "If you have that amount to fork over. It's only available in Goldenrod...."

"I do not think I will. Not with all the things I still need to acquire before I challenge Falkner."

As for Goldenrod, well. Unless he can hitchhike there, it's gonna be a long walk.

"It will be there when I do have the funds, correct?"

Um. Well...

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Radley smiles. "It'll be here for you."

Since it's a seasonal one, and he has no idea when Keldor can get here, he'll get it for him and probably bring it to him.

That makes him stop.

"Does that mean you are purchasing one for me?"

He's touched that someone would do that for him.

"Yeah, to make sure you're able to get it," Radley smiles. "It's a limited release."

"'Limited'? In what way? Are you saying it will only be released this one time?"

"I'm not sure," Radley admits. "They release certain ones for each season, but I don't know if the same ones come back every year."

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