video

[4play]

Okay. So. [Reaching down, IV lifts a curious-looking Meowth kitten up into the sight of the camera.] This is Not my Cat.

He’s literally not my cat, but he thinks he is, or whatever else cat logic that equals making himself at home in my traveling bag means that I also ought to feed and entertain him now.

Recently not my cat has started to pelt me with small change -- is that f- I mean, is that normal? It looks like it's grabbing that amulet or whatever it has first and then poing! Always straight in my face!


[He gives Not His Cat an accusatory stare that gets met with the feline version of a :3 face. Can you blame such a cute face? It's definitely planning another coin attack and when to best spring it on its human.

Sighing, IV sets the kitten down.]


I'm also looking for anybody who'd be interested in hunting for pokemon together. It's recently ...been brought to my notice that only having one that's truly capable of fighting might not be a good thing, so any help or advice on how to build a good team would be worth gold.

Comments

Video

[chazz_it_up]

Since when is feeling a connection to your monster a weakness? [Again, says the guy that denies how close he is to his own.] Alright, already! Chill! I might have seen an opportunity, but it's not like I was going to abuse it or anything. I'm not a total creep.

[So what, you're a partial creep? Great job in defending yourself there Chazz. In reality, he often ended up taking in Duel Monsters that no one else wanted or abandoned. It wasn't really a conscious effort on his part but still- it kept happening.]

I don't even know what your name is....

[4play]

It is, when it can be used to exploit you. [Is he speaking about Cat tricking him like cats have been doing with their owners since time immortal, or about something else?]

Good. Some people here are.

I'm IV. Asia Champion IV. [Which person introduces themselves by their ranking and stage name, rather than their given one? This one here does.]

[chazz_it_up]

I guess so. [The teen reluctantly allows, since it's definitely something he's witnessed before.. and/or engaged in himself. There might have been an incident once where he threw another duelist's deck into the ocean. Ha.. ha..haaaa. It's not something he intends to ever repeat but it's still an example of a person exploiting a perceived weakness. That backfired horribly.]

Really? The way I've heard people describing this place it's like it's an idyllic fantasy world. Who should I be looking out for?

[Should he point out the fact that hearing the name doesn't offer up anymore clarity?] That's it? Kind of short for a name, but at least it's easy to spell. What are you the champion of? Pokémon?

[4play]

Team Rocket, for starters. And it would be foolish to believe that everybody who was brought here is also inevitably a nice person.

[Case in point: IV himself.]

Nah, Duel Monsters. I haven't been around long enough to have made much of an impact here yet, but I'm planning on changing that soon enough.

[chazz_it_up]

Never heard of them. [Or maybe he just wasn't paying enough attention to the npc-types] I didn't say I believed it- I just said it's what I heard. So what's up with the Rockets?

[Ignorance is bliss in this case]

Did you say, Duel Monsters?

[For a moment the figure on the screen stopped talking and just stared at the person pictured on the other side]

If you're some kind of champion, then I should know who you are. Aren't your matches televised? What sort of deck do you even use?

[4play]

You didn't? [He raises an eyebrow.] I was under the impression that they are pretty common knowledge. Most get warned about them right away.

Team Rocket is the dominant criminal organization in this place. Best just think of it as the local version of the Mafia or Yakuza. They do fraud, thievery, robbing, run contraband, steal your monsters... Pretty much everything you can think of.

[He shrugs his shoulders to imply that's about as much as he can tell Chazz on the matter.]

I did. And of course they are. I used to run Gravekeepers, but as of late I'm running a Gimmick Puppets Deck instead. It won't do to be predictable, after all.

You might still not know me because of the times we are from, though. Do they still use Kaiba Corp Technology in dueling where you're from?

[chazz_it_up]

[Look, IV. Chazz is a teenager. He only listens to about a third of what people tell him, then he only retains about a quarter of that.]

That's pretty messed up. [Words of wisdom, right here.] Isn't there anything the local authorities can do about them? [After posing the question he wishes he could retract it. If Team Rocket is as entrenched as the Yakuza then it would be no small task to shut them down permanently.] Is there an easy way to identify them.. like tattoos or anything like that?

[It's not a lot to go on, but plenty for a start.]

I have some variety in my decks as well, any rational duelist would have alternatives.

[He nodded thoughtfully as the decks were discussed.]

Uh.. yeah. Who doesn't? If there's some third party knock off out there I don't want anything to do with it.

[4play]

They try, but I heard it's hard with as wide-spread as the organization's members are. And they supposedly tend to wear a big, red "R" somewhere in their clothes.

[which is still stupid, in his opinion.]

I agree. And I don't. Kaiba tech isn't really a thing anymore in the time I come from. It's still a thing, of course, but by for not the ..monopoly titan that it used to be. I prefer my own custom Disc and gear, for example. Most professionals do.

[chazz_it_up]

Wow- that's pretty blatant. Guess they really aren't worried about anyone being able to stop them.

[That's only a little terrifying. Thanks for that.]

You're serious? [Say it ain't so] I can't imagine Kaiba corp no longer being the central focus of everything. [COUGH.. Sorry Industrial Illusions, there's a huge Kaiba fan here.] Is it under new management or something?

[4play]

I suppose so. Although one could also argue that they are so blatant when they do crime that they are easy to miss when they don't and aren't wearing their 'work clothes'. It still seems silly to always carry an extra set of wear just for a big red R, though.

[You're welcome~]

Something like that. I'm from quite a leap in the future, compared to the time you might be used to. It's been several generations since Kaiba Corp's foundation, I'd imagine.

[chazz_it_up]

That's diabolical. When they're out of uniform they could be.... well anybody!

[Yes, that's kind of the point of being incognito Chazz. It's never dawned on him that IV could be among their number. Nope. He remains oblivious.]

All this alternate time nonsense is really messing with my head. That means I'd be like... ancient by your time.

[If you were still alive, Chazz.]

[4play]

Indeed. So make sure to stay away from shady folks and don't leave your wallet or pokemon unattended. I made that mistake and it cost me dearly.

[Which was actually just a convenient excuse to explain why he was 'stranded' at Goldenrod City for so long.]

Most likely. What time are you from? I'm from [insert weird futuristic date zexal takes place at]

[chazz_it_up]

[Nodding to that, Chazz would remember to be more cautious.]

Yikes, that's terrible. Sounds like you need to start shaking more coins out of that cat.

[He's not being serious, but he is feeling sympathetic.]

No way! [Chazz's mouth gaped open at the year he was given before he managed to answer in turn.] I'm from like.. 20XX. [Pretend the XX's are filled in. It's roughly around 2004 to 2014, but there seems to be debate on that. Either way, it's the earlyish 2000s, not the later years.]

[4play]

If I try that he'll just hit me in the face with them again. Right, you menace?

[Not IV's cat meows in what might be agreement or just a random demand for attention.]

Wow! That's really a difference! Although you aren't the duelist that's the most from the past that I met here. There are some people here, who have seen the Battle City tournament of old themselves.

[chazz_it_up]

Oh right. That's where we started.

[Such a needlessly violent Meowth you have there.]

You're telling me. [Wait. So how old would he be in IV's time? Chazz doesn't dedicate much ram to figuring that out.] That's so weird to hear you say it like that. I mean.. Battle City was a while ago but it wasn't ancient history.

[4play]

[Yeah, it's almost karma that IV seems to attract all the weird misfits among the pokemon world. Or maybe all cats are just weird and mean like that.]

Not in your world. I'm from a place where we can always hook up into Virtual Reality if we'd like to duel and robots keeping cities clean is just an everyday fact.