victory_road | post-event blues ; rt 35 [text/possible action]

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post-event blues ; rt 35 [text/possible action]

[ He hasn't been great. For a couple days in a row after the raid he stuck fast to chore duty and didn't venture out into the city at all– too afraid that he'd come back and something else would have gone horribly wrong in his absence. This is about the furthest he's been from home since then, soaking his bare feet in a pond on Route 35. ]

[ The egg sits in his lap, cradled carefully. He made sure to cushion it with all his old clothes in his bag on the way here. Meanwhile, all now-three(!) of his lizards are lounging around the bank at various intervals; by all accounts it's a beautiful autumn afternoon outside. ]

[ They all look over in unison, though, when he pulls out his PokéGear and begins to tap at it with shaky fingers. Clearly their Trainer's mood is keeping them from fully relaxing. ]

[ Soon uploaded to the public network: a careful photo of the egg, and some text to accompany it... ]

Any advice pleasse. For tsking care of ond of these.

Can thy be out in the eveninf or should i head in doors soon so it stays wadm. Warm.

// note: anyone is free to have their character run into him in person! i've been particularly wanting to try my hand at a battle scene, especially with treecko so close to evolving...... maybe someone thinks a brawl would be a good pick-me-up for a random sad old mall goth man

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They can be out. It might hatch quicker if it's warm, but the main thing seems to be making sure you're giving them attention.

Rifht. ThBj

Thank yku. Well it is getting plenth of that I hope. And i am tryinf to keep it warm toi. Too. But do you knuw if they can get wet at all or if ig might roll away if i set it down on the ground. Because somey.

Sometimes it moves.

[ ...Seems like while he has someone on the line he's trying to get as much advice as humanly possible in one go. He might be overthinking all this, just a little. ]

I don't think getting wet will hurt it, but it's probably better not to unless you know it's a water type. It will only roll away if you put it on a slope.

If it's moving sometimes that means it's getting closer to hatching.

[ Close to hatching...?? He puts a hand to the shell gingerly. But for now, at least, it's not making a move. ]

Okay thne. Please tell me. How can you tdll if it is water type. Or otber tupe. Type.

[ This whole "type" thing has been a puzzle of its own, but at least he's gotten the hang of the basics. If it turns out this thing DOES have water powers he's a little worried about his Fire/Poison lizard over here. ]

It's hard to tell unless you know what the parents are. If you don't know then you probably won't be able to tell until it hatches.

[ Ah. He doesn't have a clue about parents. At least from the tone of the stranger's message it seems like not knowing is fairly normal? IE, he won't be outing himself as having yoinked it out of a pile in the basement of Goldenrod HQ by admitting as much... ]

[ ...he decides to avoid giving away any more details just in case. ] Well i suppose jt wont be long anyway. Thabk you for your time sir or madsme

[ ... ]

[ ...Wait. The eggs have parents? His thoughts drift away into speculation-land as he tries to work out the implications on his existing theories... that's all the response Min-Gi is getting for now, it seems, unless he has anything of his own to ask in return. ]

Sir.

[That's not a proper introduction, though, is it?]

I'm Min-Gi. I've been here for three years now, so if you have other questions I'd be happy to try and help you.

[ Three years... that's not too awfully long, but it's still a lot longer than himself. It's no wonder the stranger on the other end of the line seems so knowledgeable. ]

[ Or, well, not a stranger anymore, Bido supposes. ]

Thank yoy mr. Min gi. I wpuld like to know why my pokermon opens itd head up and turns yelloe

W.

[ PoV: you are Yahoo Answers. Good luck Min-Gi ]

[Three years feels like a long time to him, but even only counting the people who come from other worlds there are definitely still others who have been here a lot longer than he has.]

What Pokémon is that?

[That could be alarming, or perfectly normal depending on what it is.]

As long as you are present and actively caring for it, warmth should not be an issue, but you can always wrap a scarf around it to be safe, or ask a Fire-type Pokémon to stay close by if you have the option.

[ Fire-type...! He glances over at his lounging Salandit; he has one of those! ]

Ohyes rhat is right. Thank yiu so much i had not thiugt of that but. Is it really safe for a thing thst makes fire fo be close to the eggg.

It is. In fact, certain Fire-types have flames so well-suited for eggs that they hatch twice as quickly in their presence. Look for the abilities Flame Body or Magma Armor, if you've more than one Fire-type.

[ Well that's a relief... he glances over at Salandit again. Gives it a good once-over. ]

[ Nope. No armor that he can see, magma or otherwise And no flames on its body either. ]

Sorryr to say i only have ghe one and it is withoyt those but. Do yoy know is there amything similar to that. With electrical ones. [ The new Helioptile has been cuddling up to the egg at night, he's noticed... maybe it knows something he doesn't? ]

[Is there a– No, there isn't. Cecil does check, to be safe.]

Electric-types do not naturally possess the ability to speed up an egg's hatching cycle, sadly. Still, by spending time with the egg alongside you, they can help create the necessary conditions for a healthy, happy hatchling.

_{[While it never quite reaches the spectacular array of fall colors that Ecruteak City up north boasts, the National Park is still gorgeous in autumn, and on mild-weather days Route 35 sees plenty of traffic from folks on their way to or from the park.]

[So, this is in all likelihood not the first person Bido has heard coming down the path.]

[It is probably the first person accompanied by... um... a weird and bad new kind of background music?]

[Rounding the sandy path's bend is a young woman with scruffy bleach-blond hair, bags under her eyes, and a gangly, horse-sized assortment of mismatched limbs that is emitting those... honks. Its crest is flared and it's moving in a kind of jaunty, dance-y, two-steps-forward-one-step-back shuffle to keep pace with its comparatively shortlegged trainer.]

[It is almost certainly part of the reason the girl has bags under her eyes.]}

Snits, I'm glad you're having fun, but I'm gonna need you to get this out of your system before bedtime because the neighbors are about one mishap away from putting out a hit on me.

_{[She doesn't spot the random sad old mall-goth immediately, but she IS stepping off the path and making a clear trajectory towards the water. The big, musically-inclined critter is coming with her. Still honking.]

[ENGAGE | OBSERVE | FLEE ?]}

[ His Pokémon sense the approaching Honk-Beast before Bido does; he's startled away from his Gear by a series of Treecko warning clacks. This isn't the first Trainer to pass down this route since he's stopped here, but when he spies her partner... well. It's obvious why his own companion would agitate. ]

Oh hush...! [ he still scolds, because it's still going and he heard it the first time. The lizard huffs, and with a flash of light, it returns itself to its ball. Nice try. He's past being fooled; he knows it hasn't suddenly been vaporized, and he ISN'T going to break down in supplication when it comes back out expecting an apology. That only worked the first couple of times. ]

[ Hmph. Wiping his face hurriedly, he eyes the approaching strangers. ]

Eh. H-hello...? [ He's not pleased with how wavery and hoarse his voice comes out, but then maybe it's quiet enough that the Trainer didn't hear him. ]

_{[No such luck-- a survival-horror protagonist's ears are keenly attuned to quiet, wavery voices from unseen figures, even after many years in the comparative peace and safety of Pokemon-Land!]}

--OH! Hey, sorry, didn't see you.

_{[If the young woman notices his bleary eyes or quaky tone, she doesn't comment on it. Instead, she gives him a crooked, apologetic grin and a wave.]}

Apologies for the uh, impromptu concert-- Snits here just figured out a new trick and he's really pleased with himself about it.

_{[She lays her free hand on the gangling creature's shaggy neck]}

Hey bud, why don't you take a drink and cool it on the concerto for a minute, okay? You can sing more when we keep going.

_{["Snits", despite his clear enthusiasm, obliges her with one last warble, then ambles ahead to the shallows, where he wades in and just kind of. Stands there. STANCED.]

[If this is at all weird, the girl doesn't comment on it either, and just stuffs her hands in her pockets as she glances back to Bido.]}

We'll be outta--

_{[And then she stops. Abruptly. She'd been about to say 'outta your hair'. And uh. Hm. Maybe she should not say that.]}

--outta here in a jiffy.

...Right.

[ He turns his head back and stares out at the strange quadruped in the water, which continues to loom in place, majestically. ]

[ Now that he's had a good eyeful (and earful), it doesn't really faze him any more than the other creatures he's seen. Mostly he just needs a direction to stare in that the lady stranger isn't occupying. He made that mistake zoning out around the bar a couple weeks ago, and got a clean hand-shaped welt on his face in return. ]

[ ...a couple weeks and a lifetime. His fingernails dig into the palms of his hands. (He doesn't want to clutch the egg in his lap too hard.) ]

It looks like he likes it in there. [ Somehow his voice is even quieter than before, if that's possible. It's like he doesn't trust himself with it. ] And I don't really mind the music.

_{[Bido is, if anything, probably in a uniquely perfect position to be unfazed by Snitter's jumbled silhouette. Honestly, the fact that he doesn't immediately recoil (a reaction that's less common these days, but... still one that Heather expects a non-zero chance of) is sort of a relief-- he seems timid, but not terrified.]

[Her eclectic beast is MUCH more confident these days, but Heather still tries to avoid lingering in the company of people who react to him with open disgust as much as possible.]

[So she smiles again, less ruefully, and gazes upon the critter with clear fondness.]}

Heh, he's a Grass-type, so he gets real energetic after walkies in the sun. And... drinking water through his feet.

_{[Hence the STANCE.]

[But, looking back to Bido, she gives the egg in his arms a nod.]}

Sunshine's good for eggs, too. Got any idea what that one's gonna be?

Edited 2025-10-15 21:30 (UTC)

[ Slowly getting used to people not reacting with disgust is definitely an experience Bido shares. And right now it's leaving him fairly out of his depth. There's no aim in this interaction, no role he's playing, nothing to gain from subjecting himself to another's scrutiny. He and this woman are just two perfect strangers by the side of the road. ]

[ The returning lump in his throat isn't helping much, either, and he presses the heel of his hand to his left eye again, swallowing the rising sob before he speaks. ]

No idea... I was just, asking, you know, with the thing. If there's anything more I should be doing to help. [ The PokéGear laying in the grass at his side is the most obvious evidence as to what he means by "the thing". ] But I guess there isn't.

[ A pause as he considers what she said about her own Pokémon. ]

He's really a Grass type? I wouldn't have thought so... [ It doesn't look anything like his Treecko, except for maybe the front legs. Maybe those feet are the ones he drinks with. ]

_{[OH, ooh, okay, belatedly Heather is now having the realization that she maybe stumbled into someone's Private Emotional Moment By The River. But it's kind of too late to make a graceful exit that wouldn't probably make someone feel worse now.]

[She does not comment on the thickness in his voice, or the rubbing of his eye, but turns her gaze back to Snitter, lifting a hand to gesture vaguely.]}

Yeah, the only real indications are his tail and crest... They're leaf-... like? Leafish. Leaf-adjacent.

_{[Then, still in a casual tone (but a note gentler), she adds:]}

Sometimes keeping eggs around Fire-types helps them hatch quicker. Keeping 'em warm, you know? If you don't have any, I bet the nurses down at the Pokemon Center back in town probably have a few on hand.

_{[Or at the very least, they could possibly give better advice than randos on the network. NOT that there aren't smart and experienced people happy to answer questions, but uh. Laws of the internet dictate that helpful tips are just as likely as 'yeah you should throw it like a football, trust me'.]}

[ His head tilts very slowly and very slightly, one way and then the other, as she mentions the leafiness. Hm. Well, sure, now that she says so. They're green at least. (Though as bright and beautiful as this world is, colors have looked different since he got here; flatter, somehow. Maybe he'll realize someday that his eyes were what changed. For now it's just another layer of separation.) ]

[ The muscles in his face tighten automatically at the word "nurses". ]

I know that already. Mine isn't the right kind. [ ...As of maybe 5 minutes ago. Not nearly long enough to justify the clipped tone to his words, that's for sure! His Salandit– the Fire-type in question– is in earshot and everything, too, and by the melancholy look now cast over its lizardy face, it might have taken that last part a bit personally. ]

[ Bido, still thousand-yard staring across the water, doesn't react to his Pokémon's attempt to use Baby-Doll Eyes... so instead the poor henchling turns them on Heather. Is it doing a bad job? She's the biggest one here, she legally has to tell it if it's doing a bad job!! ]

_{[Heather is NOT immune to lizard propaganda Baby-Doll Eyes, and she gives the little Salandit a rueful smile as she bends down to offer her a friendly, sniffable hand. Don't worry l'il critter, you're not doing a bad job!]

[In fact...]

[Looking thoughtful, Heather keeps the hand outstretched while the other goes to dig in her pocket for her PokeGear.]}

Man, y'know, the first time one of my Pokemon laid eggs, I didn't even know they were there?

_{[She's focusing on the Salandit as she speaks, but it's a story for Bido's ears, too.]}

See, my Noctowl really liked to sleep in this specific duffle-bag of mine... and we'd settled down in one place for awhile so I hadn't really needed to get into it. And then, one day?

Boom.

Baby owls everywhere.

_{[Finally locating her 'Gear, she pulls it out and straightens back up to browse through old photos for a second or two until she finds what she's looking for. Which is photos of a dufflebag quite literally overflowing with fuzzy baby Hoothoots. They all look happy and healthy!]}

And that's with me literally not knowing they existed until they were already hatched and making themselves everybody's business.

_{[Sure, they'd been incubated under mama, but... still. No extra help! Just a warm cozy place.]}

As long as it's kept warm and not handled too roughly, an egg will usually hatch just fine on its own, when it's ready. They're tough like that.

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post-event blues ; rt 35 [text/possible action]

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Bido :(

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