[Video]

[infernofireblast]

[The video feed opens up rather shakily, as the young man holding the camera is moving rather erratically with it while it broadcasts. Despite the unsteady camera, a mess of blonde hair can be made out. Just as suddenly as the feed had begun, though, the shaking stops and the feed steadies.]

Well hey der everyone! Joey Wheeler comin' to you live from Goldenrod City!

[He leans-in and gives a thumbs-up to the camera.]

Ya know, I been usin' dis Pokégear for a while now but I never realized it could do cool stuff like let you talk to people through camera. Shows me for not takin' da time to get familiar with the little doohickey I s'pose, but how cool is dis? Phones were pretty cool back in Domino, don't get me wrong, but dis is on a whole new level!

[Joey sticks his bottom lip out and nods in affirmation of his own statement.]

I know der ain't no way I was the only one whisked away to dis here world though, so who else is out der?

Comments

[rolltoavoidpossession]

Joey???

[It's Ryou! Judging by the background, he's also in Goldenrod City!

Also visible is a Chingling, floating just behind his head.]

When'd you get here?

[infernofireblast]

Aww yeah! It's Bakura! I knew 'der was no way I was da only one of da gang pulled into this place!

[Joey gives a big thumbs-up to the camera.]

I got in here about a month ago! How 'bout you?

[rolltoavoidpossession]

I got here over a month ago, in October!

[Ryou smiles, delighted to see someone else familiar here.]

How are you doing so far? I've been fine so far, but it was pretty wet when I got here...

[The Chingling settles on Ryou's head, watching the conversation with a curious look.]

[infernofireblast]

I been doin' pretty good! Got to a bunch of warp pads already and I've been runnin' all over fightin' Pokémons and stuff. Dis' game world rocks, but I gotta say its weird not havin' Duel Monstahs in here.

[Joey makes a "hmmm" expression.]

Guess that means its upta me to get da' bois back rockin' and rollin' eh?

[rolltoavoidpossession]

It is a lot like a game world, isn't it? There's even background music.

[It's really weird, but Ryou's been adapting well enough.]

I've been travelling a bit too. I got here from Violet a little before the snowstorm, but before that I was in Cherrygrove for a few weeks.

[He's not travelling very fast, clearly.

But on the topic of Duel Monsters-]

I had my Occult deck in my pocket when I got here, but I haven't had anyone to actually play with yet.

[And Ryou actually pulls it out of his pocket and shows it to the camera. He considers teasing Joey with it, but...nah. Not right now, when they've just gotten to talk again.]

[infernofireblast]

[Joey grimaces.]

I'm glad you been gettin' inta Duel Monstahs ever since da ring spirit got beat and all dat', but I can't get my head around why ya keep playin' dat creepy deck of his. Der's all kinds-a cards you could use ta' make a tabletop deck and stuff, so why keep playin'... dat. [He gestures towards the deck.]

We gotta get you ta Gramp's to get some new packs. None of dis' spooky, shadow-gamey business!

[crystalmaster]

[Radley's eyes light up. Joey Wheeler! He recognizes him from Battle City and Duelist Kingdom footage.]

Hello! My name is Radley. We don't know each other, but I know of you. I'm from the future of our world.

[Some of his Eevees call greetings.]

The PokeGear is pretty cool. It's not as advanced as the tech in my time, but it's still really useful.

I live in Goldenrod. Maybe we could hang out sometime? I like talking with people from home.

[infernofireblast]

[A big grin spreads across Joey's face.]

Aww yeah! They know Joey Wheeler in da future? Dat's awesome! Good to meet ya Radley!

[Joey looks at the Eevees.]

What kinda monstahs you got der'? And you said you're in Goldenrod? I'm in Goldenrod too! Maybe we could hit the Game Corner!

[crystalmaster]

They sure do!

[He smiles.]

These are Eevees. I breed them, and sometimes they deliberately find me.

That works for me, if you're prepared to gamble.

[He doesn't much, but now and then he might try a little.]

[infernofireblast]

I'm game to spin some wheels! With this just bein' game currency it's no harm no foul!

[He flashes a mischievous grin and pops a thumbs-up.]

If you're from da future too, den do you also play Duel Monstahs? Be pretty cool if deres' still people to throw down cahds with even in this funky world!

[crystalmaster]

Oh? You think this is a game?

[That could be a problem.

He smiles.]

I sure do! I'm planning to arrange some get-togethers with everyone here from home. There's several that I've met.

[infernofireblast]

I mean sure it is! Der's funny monstahs you can collect, dey've each got levels that I can see, I stahted in exactly the kind of tutorial I'd expect outta sometin' like Dragon Quest, and der's friggin background music playin' everywhere! Heck, I've been collectin' fast travel spots ever since I came in here.

[Joey spreads his arms as if to say "are you kidding me?"]

I've been'ta more virtual worlds, extra-dimensional worlds, and dahk dimensions den you can shake a stick at, so I think I'm sometin' of an expert by this point!

[blue_ice]

...You?

[ There's Kaiba, flabbergasted. He's sitting next to his Alolan Raichu, who's currently tearing into some pancakes.

He takes a deep breath. He's trying not to be...quite so rude. ]

Well. Wheeler. I...see you've settled in.

[infernofireblast]

Ah great. Shoulda known creepy Kaiba would be here too. Dis' mean we're in some new special world'a yours? We don't gotta fight more of ya wacky business partnahs do we?

[He grits his teeth.]

[blue_ice]

...why does everyone say that? Wasn't me.

[ He exhales sharply. ]

I had to start my life over as a trainer just like you. And believe it or not I have no intention of creeping. I'm far too busy with the gym challenge.

[infernofireblast]

Nah you're not creepy cuz of da stuff ya wrinkly old dad did. Yah creepy because you do stuff like buildin' island towers just to blow dem up and dig-up bajillion year old dahk relics instead'a leavin' well enough alone. Don't think for a second I forgot about ol' mega-blocks boy back at your fancy lil' Duel Disk demo.

[Upon hearing Kaiba's just another trainer too, Joey cracks a big ol' shit-eating grin.]

Waitaminute. So you're sayin' dis' here world isn't one of your makin'? Guess that means you and me's on equal footin den eh? You were to scared ta fight me propahly way back in Battle City, so looks like dis is the perfect time to show you what ol' Joey Wheeler's made of!

[blue_ice]

I'm not afraid of you. My team will be the ones doing the talking, and they're mighty and proud!

[ He's...seething, almost. And that means his Sylveon senses trouble! A fluffy pastel pink, white, and blue creature comes into frame, sitting on Kaiba's lap and letting out a soft cry. His eyelid twitches but he relents, letting out a long sigh and petting her head. ]

...don't say it. She's a fierce predator, the cute thing's just an act.

VIDEO

[insidescoop]

[Y'know there's something curiously familiar about this guy. Hmmm. Hmmmmmmmmmmm....

...

It'll come t-]

OHHHHH!!

Another Domino-ite!?!

[Is that a word. That's not a word. It's fine, this is fine.] Man! You guys are just crawling right out of the woodwork lately, what's going on here!

Re: VIDEO

[infernofireblast]

Crawlin' outta da' woodwork? So ders' a buncha' folks from Domino den'?

[A grin spreads across Joey's face.]

Dat's great news! I knew der' was no way I was da' only one pulled inta' dis' place!

carly, in her mid 20s, talking to joey, a teenager: wow gee a Legend...

[insidescoop]

Boy is there..! I wouldn't even be surprised if you really are in the same circle!

Hauhhhhhh, here I am with all the 'heroes of the dueling kick off' around, but I'm not the one who ever went in the League... ...I can't tell if I should be thrilled or guilty...

[Ahem.] Erm- on that note~!

It's really great to meet another Domino duelist?

...I'm assuming here, you seem pretty familiar, but I can't put my finger on it...I was more focused on the current generation, less names more photos...

[Is she saying he's old!?]

[seacub]

Uhhh...Hey!

[Emporio has no idea who this is, though if Joey was anywhere near that Halloween Party, they might have in fact glimpsed the other...] ...This is uh...Emporio Alniño? ...I'm at the Indigo League right now, so I might drop out from the connection if we're not lucky...

Were you from a year earlier than 2010? These seem sort of similar to smartphones, but I barely saw them at home, and I was from 2012...

[infernofireblast]

[Joey looks excited to have someone on the line, and brings the Pokégear closer to talk.]

It's da' Summer of '98 back in Domino right now. You're sayin' you're from da 2000s?! I seen some wacky tech before, but I ain't ever heard of a smahtphone doe'.

[A look of realization appears on his face.]

Did dey' get smaht cuz' of Y2K?!

[seacub]

[He wants so bad to ask if he's met a fellow american-]

Haha, yeah! It's been interesting coming here from that- there's a lot that seems 'behind', and a lot that seems 'ahead', like the pokegears, and the teleporters...

[He trails off, before giving a laugh and a grin.] ...Probably not..! Y2K wasn't as big of a problem as people theorized; I was only a baby at the time...but reading about it, people worried that a lot of problems would come because of the computers switching to a new millennium.

...But ultimately, it went pretty much without a hitch, so everything went as normal...

...Oh- I can tell you why they are called smartphones though!

If you were from '98, you'd definitely have computers...now, imagine putting all of that in a phone! Just like these pokegears!

[infernofireblast]

[[Before "Dark Side of Dimensions" Joey would indeed have been from the US of A but, thankfully for all the holes that created in the story, Domino was placed back in Japan by the movie.]]

Oh wow! With da way all dem' big companies were talkin' about it I woulda thought we were set ta see da end a' da world! If you're really from da future den' that's great ta' know!

Dem' computah phones sound pretty cool, but I still think I'd ratha' have dat new Duel Disk. Dat' think looks incredible!

[seacub]

[[SAVED BY LATE DUB INSTALLMENTS....]]

Haha, yeah- I don't think it helps that most people representing bigger companies don't actually know a lot about their technology. It's pretty rare for someone at the top of a company chain to really know how it all works.

[Oh hey-]

A duel disk..?

...I feel like I remember someone talking about one of those, as if the two things were combined... [The computer and phone AND duel disk, he means. He's thinking of Yuzu in any case.]