Victory Road!

So~~~!

I know everyone's still talking about the contest, and I thought about entering it, I did--but we'd been working so hard for this Gym Challenge that I couldn't just change plans on them like that! Not that I did the gym battle instead, that was like.... at least a week before the contest, but I don't want to overwork everybody either. There's only four of us, after all. And I'm not even allowed to fight! I did ask, just in case, and that was a hard no.

[She's doing this half on purpose, this whole 'meandering one-sided conversation' bit. She really did ask about Trainers on the field, but that was for the sake of thorough coverage and academic rigour, not an attempt to go out there and punch a Pidgeot.

She would still punch a Pidgeot if she needed to, though. Just for the record.]

We challenged our first Gym, and I think it was very educational for all of us! Also we won, which isn't everything, but it is nice to come out on top on your first try.

[For a moment there, the corners of her smile turn almost smirk-like... almost cat like. Just for a moment.

Then she grins--perky, upbeat Mari, ready to add some genki to your day!]

And Jonathan and I got some great shots to go with our pics from the temple exploration!

Hang on, I think I can send these to... ta da!

[And now everyone has numerous selfies featuring Mari, Mari's Pokemon, Falkner, and.... Jonathan Joestar?!

There are also a handful of deeply unsettling underwater photographs, including a handful of selfies taken by this thing.... some of which appear to be inside a brass dome... which, on closer examination, turn out to be selfies by Jonathan and Mari, taking turns at wearing That Thing. This is made more obvious by a couple of shots with the other in frame, outside of the suit. But the uncanny effect is made worse by the dim lighting, and the way some of the selfies Jonathan took are a bit out of focus, or off-centre.

Did she... did she mean to upload those????]

[Wow, another perky teenage Japanese(?) girl! What a novelty. Here in a setting where everyone is by default generically Japanese, and there is an entire participatory subcategory of youths in the local lifestyle-sport that is just called 'miniskirt.' And yet here she is! No one could have seen this one coming!]

He-llo! I hate to be a downer, but I just got here, and I was wondering if anyone could prove that we're not dead. Not that death seems very likely, given what I know about it, but I tried asking the locals and the nonsapiens life about it anyway after I found out what was going on, and all I learned is that for some reason they didn't really like the question.

That being the case, any evidence in either direction would be useful! And this is just a formality, so anecdotal evidence is okay, too.

By the way, since I have your attention, I'm sure you won't mind telling me how long I have to walk on order to be able to buy some new clothes that aren't what's in my bag, right?