Video

[dreamsofahero]

I realize I have perhaps not been as attentive to this network as I once was, but am I mistaken, or has there recently been another shift in the pattern of comings and goings of those of us from other worlds?

That is, the way it was a decade ago aside, for some time it was typically a fairly slow but regular comings and goings, but recently it seemed there were more sudden bursts, so to speak. Of course, given that not everyone cares to use this network much at first and we know that some people find themselves in Team Rocket's base, it's hard to be certain, however...

Well, in the past, such irregularities have seemed to coincide with other occurrences, as often as not. It's just as likely to be nothing, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared should it turn out something's afoot after all.

*...Sion, your paranoia is showing.....*

Comments

[islandshore]

It feels like before, there was almost a cyclical feeling to it? Hard to put into words, but it felt like more people showed up at once, and it was a lot more consistent. Heck, a ton of us popped up right outta the gate.

[Riku pauses, bringing a hand to his chin.]

Dunno if there's a rhyme or reason to it. One thing I do remember is how sometimes a ton of people from one world would show up close together.

[dreamsofahero]

Precisely. And people often seemed to arrive in batches, so to speak, who could then travel together. Then, for some time, it had been a slow but steady trickle. One, perhaps two at a time.

Over several months in the last year or so, that seemed especially true, with newcomers showing up fairly consistently. But then, the other month, apparently a number of people vanished all at once, where before it was typically one or two at a time. And since then it hasn't seemed to follow past patterns.

So, has the pattern simply changed again, or should we be concerned that other things are afoot?

[islandshore]

Hmm...

[He folds his arms, contemplating.]

See, that's tough. Do we treat it as a pattern, or just an uncanny coincidence? I've always felt like there was at least some randomness determining who stays and who disappears, but I definitely think we're seeing smaller batches whenever people do show up. That's been a constant for a while now.

[dreamsofahero]

Which is why I can't help but wonder at some of the recent shifts in that pattern. If I recall, there have been a rare occasion or two where new arrivals stopped entirely, followed by particularly unusual occurrences.

[islandshore]

Huh, yeah. It's been so long that it all kinda blurs. I guess for a while, there were slowdowns...

But then you'd get big surges other times.

[Hmmm, that does beg the question, though...]

You think this is building to something?

[dreamsofahero]

That's what I'm wondering. It could just as well be nothing... However it wouldn't hurt to be prepared, either.

[islandshore]

Hmm, but how do we prepare for something like that? Not sure what we can really do.

[dreamsofahero]

Aside from being alert to signs of anything amiss, there's having supplies and tools at the ready, taking care to ensure you have at least some certain things on you at all times, and so on...

*...look, Sion's literally alive today thanks to a healthy sense of paranoia*

[islandshore]

Wonder what tools and supplies would be best. We talking survival, or just boosting our teams? Guess there's room for both...

Never know when you'll be dislocated somewhere and need something to eat.

[dreamsofahero]

Well items like potions and such probably go without saying, one should really be keeping a supply on hand anyway. Otherwise, something like what they call a multitool here is both compact and has a variety of uses.

*including stabbing, in a worst case scenario*

But perhaps most important would be keeping the balls of some of your team on hand, even when at home.

[islandshore]

Heh. Guess I oughta select a team I can get the most mileage outta. Something that flies, something that swims. Weather manipulation if we get stranded somewhere.

[He shrugs.]

Never know when a natural disaster's gonna hit. I still remember the Regis.

[dreamsofahero]

Exactly.

*not to mention the weird weekends... though there's no real way to be prepared for those*

One would think that eventually people would find a way to prevent such things, but with how often entirely new things seem to pop up...

[islandshore]

I think the problem's that the whole setup's outside our control. Even Arceus doesn't seem to fully get it, or at least doesn't wanna interfere.

Just sucks that we're locked outta so many resources because we're from other worlds. I feel like we'd know more if the researchers collaborated.

[dreamsofahero]

And yet, newcomers are constantly assuming Arceus is some mastermind behind everything, simply because even amongst the legendaries it's powerful.

*Sion is so very tired of that assumption*

Really, I imagine if we'd been allowed to more closely coordinate from the start, we may well have resolved a number of things by now.