video, backdated to March 5

[telewarped]

Hey, losers. This has definitely been one of the months I've had so far, but now I'm officially bored to death.

[There is a general air of malaise permeating this message, even if the voice of the Pokémon sending it—a gray-toned Mimikyu, currently stationed in what appears to be one of the Oran guild's dens—sounds casual and calm enough.]

At least one of you has to have a decent rec for how to kill time around here you can give me... Or just tag yourself. Whatever.

[At the words tag yourself, an image takes shape in your mind. It's astonishingly clear and will remain present in your head until your connection to this particular Grumpearl is broken.]

Later.

Comments

[truthdecided]

[...

What.]

Birds and bats can breed.

[Excuse you? His mind flashes through different earth birds and bats, with this overwhelming ripple of confusion.]

But... one is a bird and the other is a mammal. Their anatomy shouldn't even be compatible! Not to mention, one of those so-called bats looked like a dragon.

[outbounds]

Hm? Noivern? Sure. That is true. But it evolves from Noi-bat, not Noi-dragon. And their type is Flying/Dragon.

Things can be both!

[ also yeah birds and bats can breed, but the flying egg group makes plenty of sense, just like how the bug one does. wait until you hear about what complete nonsense the field egg group gets up to, Akechi. ]

[truthdecided]

My, that almost sounded like a compliment.

[Heh. Hearing that from Shoka of all people is a surprise, but...]

Frankly, I can't begin to fathom why Ren holds me in such high regard, given everything that transpired between us, but he always has been a bleeding heart.

[truthdecided]

That still doesn't explain the anatomical discrepancies. Most birds have cloacae. Mammals decidedly do not.

[He'll spare Emmet any diagrams of animal anatomy, of course. That's not something you just send to someone unprompted.]

[telewarped]

Don't push it. And don't tell me you killed him, too.

[outbounds]

Of course.

That is why Celebi drops off the eggs for them from the future after they're done playing with each other.

[truthdecided]

You have to be bullshitting me. There is absolutely no way.

[Even Pokémon logic has limits, damn it!]

[truthdecided]

Someone like Ren is not so easily thwarted.

[Pay no mind to to the flicker of conversation that accompanies his thoughts.]

[outbounds]

Hehe. You got me. That one is just folklore. For some reason it does keep coming up whenever you try to look for information about the spirit of the forest, though.

[ don't ask him why he's been thinking about it lately, actually. ]

Everything else I said is true, though!

[telewarped]

Then how bad could it've been? [There's worse things than death, but—] Whatever happened between you two, seems like it doesn't matter all that much to him now.

[Why is he thinking about delicious pancakes right now? Whatever...]

[truthdecided]

But that makes no sense! Bats are mammals who reproduce through live birth. Birds lay eggs.

[He's not going to outright ask how their reproduction works, but there's just the slightest hint of agitation to his words.]

[outbounds]

...... Huh?

All Pokémon lay eggs. Except for the ones who don't. The ones for whom there is no known documentation on record of them reproducing at all.

[ live birth, like a human...? ]

[truthdecided]

[...

Give him a minute, Emmet.]

So you're saying that even mammals lay eggs.

[Images flash through his mind of feline Pokémon, like Liepard and Litten, other assorted mammals, like Mightyena and even Zoroark.]

That would make them all monotremes, but that still doesn't explain...

[But then, he mentioned egg groups.]

You mean to tell me that, scientifically speaking, bats are considered genetic relatives to birds.

[truthdecided]

Even if I could raise a number of valid points for why he shouldn't care so much, he still would. I just happen to think he could have, and likely should have, resented me more.

But I'm not Ren. It's much more difficult for me to forgive.

[Which includes himself, though that goes unsaid.]

[outbounds]

Close enough for eggs, anyway. Compatibility wise. Don't think there is enough crossover for all that many unique or interesting egg moves though. At least I haven't heard of that many birds picking up sound moves from a -bat parent. Might depend on how strong actually.

[ a couple things get stuff like Supersonic, maybe, it's even learned naturally for some,

but it's what, just the Swellow line, and he thinks maybe Chatot or Toucannon that gets Boomburst via Noivern...? Scrappy Boomburst is a thing some trainers like to bring to the battle lines, and Chatot would just make sense given how well they can mimic sounds and cries. ]

[truthdecided]

I may have to research this further...

[...]

Purely for curiosity's sake. I've no interest in eggs, not to mention a distinct lack of interest in the opposite sex.

[That's a lot of words to say that he's gay, but bear with him.]

[outbounds]

I do not know if they would have that kind of information in the archives here. Or if they do, then how extensive it is.

[ all things considered, even in the 'modern' world Emmet comes from, they only really started studying it properly relatively recently in the grand scheme of things. here, wherever and whenever it is, definitely seems to be more behind the times... but maybe it's different for Pokémon who have built a city like this, and they might have it all written down somewhere? ]

But I am Emmet, and admittedly I have also not exactly gone looking for it. Good luck to you if you do.

[truthdecided]

Would they not need to know these things to operate the clinic? The biological differences of needs between Pokémon seem rather pertinent to such a diverse population.

[Though, given the sort of world Emmet hails from, his skepticism still makes sense...]

Granted, the level of technology is still far behind what I'm accustomed to, so the science could still be primitive by comparison.

[telewarped]

Well, maybe it's easy for you to turn your brain off... [If she still had a face, she'd be pouting a little.] Can't say I've gotten this whole impressionist-style thought feed you've got going on from anyone else...

[For the most part, she's had success in just willing the pearl to function the way her phone might, somehow—but she'll try to change her approach now, calm her nerves, empty her mind, and think:]

nerd

[telewarped]

Uh... huh. And here I thought you were always in the wrong place at the wrong time!

... Fine, I'll bite. What kind of books do the archives have to offer anyway?

[telewarped]

... Like, right now?

[That would require getting up... Sounds hard.]

[outbounds]

Doesn't have to be right now. [ You can continue to denrot right now, Shoka, it's okay. ] I just mean in general. My job involved a lot of battling.

Here, so far. Honestly? Nowhere near close!

[telewarped]

[Recommencing denrot!]

Bummer.

... What was your job anyway?

[outbounds]

[ the mental impression of a shrug? yes, the diverse population, that's a neat thing that's come up before. ]

The population of this place. It is a lot more diverse than the wild populations you would usually find back home. So many different species in one place, all intermingling with each other, it does not usually happen in the wild.

[ he can't imagine that even if the native fauna of say, route 4 were building secret settlements in very, verrrry secret locations, they'd have extensive documentation of cross-species compatibility and things to possibly note in any potential offspring from such pairings... maybe he's underestimating them but hm. hmmmm! ]

That is why I am not sure! This place is like and unlike where I come from. It might be like you said. That such a diverse population then would lead to that kind of information being kept, for uses such as the clinic here.

[ but how in-depth, who knows! does akechi want to do an internship or something under Dr. Denne to find out-- ]

[outbounds]

Conductor. Subway Master. Battle Facility Head.

[ pick one or all three. whichever job title you like! not that just saying them explains anything outside of the obvious. ]