Video;

[truthdecided]

[Akechi addresses the Pearl in his and Ren's new, high tier room. Thanks to the help of Maya and Mayaka, the conspiracy wall is all in order. So many notes! There are even some new ones, and an open journal lies at Akechi's tiny birdy feet.]

I'd like to take a moment to discuss the dreams from last month.

[Yes, the dreams. Surely a vast majority know what he means.]

More specifically, the rather... cataclysmic one toward the end of the month. Volcanic eruptions and ash, foreign beings unlike any Pokémon we've seen, and calamity consuming the land.

[He brings his wings together like a pair of hands, breathing in.]

I believe this is significant, between the fossilized remains at Furnace Mountain, the ruined copy of the Archives in Heavy Downmoor, and the words imprinted upon us when exploring new regions and when rescuing lost Pokémon.

[He turns his Pearl toward his notes on the latter. Some ominous phrases appear:

Something important is... missing.'

Wait... Wait, stop!

They're going to leave me behind!

No, no, no, not again!

Are we who we think we are?

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

How many times have we been here? How many times have we lived here? How many times have we fallen to ruin?

There's an additional note about "doing it again" as well, though the phrasing isn't exact.]

Flowey and I had already hypothesized that there may be a cycle of destruction at play. That dream only solidified that hypothesis.

[He flutters over to another portion of the board, where the previous bounties are noted.]

And now we have three new bounties to contend with. Something keeps driving Pokémon mad, both in the form of these larger threats and the smaller swarms. Missing Pokémon go missing multiple times, yet their memories remain inconsistent...

I'm not yet sure how it all connects, but I do believe that nightmare holds connections to Furnace Mountain, if nothing else, and may be an omen of things to come.

Comments

[truthdecided]

[It's clear that this is a sensitive subject, so Akechi tries to temper his interest. Best to listen first, hum in acknowledgement.]

I see. On one hand, that is fascinating to hear, but on the other hand, I imagine it was a bittersweet experience.

[0dchess]

Yeah. Somehow I immediately knew it was her, even only seeing her at a distance. Something in her eyes, maybe. She also looked really similar to the last time I saw her.

I don't think I've ever told you about abstraction, but back home whenever someone wasn't able to take it anymore, they started to lose themselves. Eventually they ended up turning into this big monstrous form.

[Kinger projects an image of his wife, abstracted, and also his memory of seeing the quasi-real Stakataka in the distance during the festival.]

[truthdecided]

So the collapse of their psyche led to the collapse of their digital forms.

[That's... harrowing, and the image of both the Stakataka and the abstraction certainly carry an eeriness to them.]

I can't say the principles are entirely unfamiliar to me. Ren and I have both dealt with a world of human cognition and seen firsthand how tampering with it can impact people for better and for worse.

[His own guilt... well. That's hardly relevant.]

[0dchess]

If we really are in sort of time loop, what if those creatures are the people who were in the last one? What if they ended up going through something like abstraction?

[What if they're us from the last time?]

[truthdecided]

It's not an idea I'm especially fond of, but we can't entirely rule it out.

[Their forms have already changed upon their arrival. Who's to say it can't happen again?]

I'm personally more inclined to believe they're eldritch, otherworldly, or extraterrestrial beings, but it's best to keep all doors open until we find evidence to the contrary.

[0dchess]

Aren't we otherworldly extraterrestrial beings? We just blend in a bit better.

[truthdecided]

True, but something about these beings seems even more abstract.

[How to put it...]

Emmet-san and Ingo-san have spoken of "Legendary" Pokemon who are almost akin to gods. I almost wonder if these creatures may be of a similar nature.

[0dchess]

Well, maybe it's best to "be not afraid", then, and keep an open mind for what they're trying to tell us.

[Kinger turns to tinker with a slapdash electric fan.] I'm going to get back to work, but it's always nice to talk!