3rd Quest [Video, after completing Heads or Tails]

[bladeofnymeia]

[It's finally a sunny, warm day, hot but not terribly humid, and perfect for laying out bolts of felt to dry after May's deluge of rain. Or, well, to let them dry after being cleaned to ensure there's no mold or mildew or anything gross trying to grow on the fabric Firoza has worked so hard to make. And as she sits in the middle of this fabric drying in the sun, her mind wanders towards her efforts with Laios and Emmett to locate a missing Pokemon. The eerie feeling, the thought that came unbidden, the state that Zweilous was found in...

She has to talk about this. She has to express this. And when she comes in over the Grumpearls, you can get that sense of concern and confusion settling around her, making the sunny day a bit dimmer as a result.]

I don't recall Zweilous having gone missing before our arrival here. Has this Pokemon wandered off before?

[She hums, little Nidoran brow furrowed. It's important to note that she's finally started to keep her bandana pulled down again, and her right cheek (her right) has a wispy scar trailing across it, like tendrils of flame licking out. It's all healed, it doesn't look grotesque, but wow it sure is there!]

There's just...a feeling I had. "No, no, not again"...and I couldn't shake how familiar it was, to know you are missing a name and face, but you cannot put it together. Though how it can be familiar I'm not sure...

[Tap tap tap goes a paw, impatient as she thinks.]

Have any of you felt something similar, from a mission? Or am I overthinking this?

Comments

[outbounds]

Just a bit alarming, probably.

[ This menagerie, trying to crowd a single Phantump... ]

It's been a few months, though. Wonder what they've been up to since?

[bladeofnymeia]

Hopefully not getting into unreported trouble...

[outbounds]

It is Galarian Yamask that are supposed to have Wandering Spirit, not Phantump...

[ It's a joke, but since this is telepathic Firoza can also get the general air of deep sighing that Emmet would probably be doing if one: this were physical and two: he were that kind of person. ]

[bladeofnymeia]

...For the sake of that feeling, I am going to pretend that makes perfect sense.

[So are they travelers, then...?]

[outbounds]

Oh. [ He kind of thought that one would make it past the 'didn't know about Pokemon before this' divide. ] Being one of the few people who remembers or knows what abilities are is getting a little ...

[ Explaining the joke ruins it? It just seems straightforward to him. Rip. ]

[bladeofnymeia]

Oh! I'm sorry...that really isn't fair to you. Is...do you think there is a resource in town that could, erm, enlighten those of us unfamiliar? And I do mean a resource, and not just asking for explanations.

[She will Read Books for her friends, she's not scared of a book. Tablet. Whatever.]

[outbounds]

Have already checked. There are resources. Not all in one place. As in, there is information at the archives, but the organization is— I do not think everyone there agrees on how it should be done. [ To say the least! No one here has invented the Dewey Decimal System apparently. ] Records are also verrrry individual and variable in detail and quality.

[ And how! Despite his best efforts, Ingo remains his best source of information on what the hell kind of Zoroark he's found himself, as the archive records have not proven to be very useful on that front. ]

It is fine. I do not mind explaining! Part of the Oran Berries' duties is to help teach anyway. Quick question: when I say 'Ability,' are you aware of what I mean or not?

[ As in, Ability with the capital, and not just the word for 'things you can do.' Just so he knows where to start. ]

[bladeofnymeia]

...No. I am not quite familiar, unless it means something other than a particular skill one has gained over time.

[outbounds]

It is still possible for you to go through the archives. But I do not think it will be as helpful if you are trying to look for specific information. Maybe if you want to go on a general research binge and read as much as you can it will be fine, though.

But okay. In this case. Ability actually refers to the opposite? Or, well. You know how you can poison someone without meaning to if they touch your spines wrong, right? You are not actively using a move or trying to poison them, it just happens. It is like that. Those are abilities. They are, more or less, special, innate traits that different species can have, but not so unique that they are specific to that species alone. Usually.

[ Honestly he's not one-hundred percent on the methodology of how exactly the researchers are categorizing some of these things; for example, what functionally is so special about Imposter Ditto that differentiates them from a Ditto that is just verrry quick on the draw when using Transform? They naturally transform just about immediately, but you can still see them come out of the Pokeball as themselves, briefly? It makes a difference in battle, sure, but is it an uncontrollable impulse thing, or?

But that's getting too far into the specifics for a simple, generalized explanation. ]

Usually they do not need to be learned. [ There is... a little bit of irritation flickering across the link at this, but it's mild, and passes quickly as he continues. ] Things like your Poison Point, which some other but not all poison types might have. Things like Shoka's Disguise, where the cloth doll will absorb most of the first strike that hits her.

Though typically most species will have two or three [ or even more, shoutout to Rockruff, ] potential abilities available to members of the species. Anyway. One of them is called Wandering Spirit, and it is not something that Phantump are known for.

[ Finally, they get to the joke explanation... Though come to think of it, there are those dex entries about how they might wander the forest looking for friends, sometimes... ]

[bladeofnymeia]

Mm...I could try. It is still a bit difficult for me to read things here.

[You just. You don't get the best education when you're of few means and learning at an older age at home. At least if she were in Eorzea she could read, say, a small book without a lot of trouble. Here, her eyes still swim with the strange understanding of symbols she shouldn't know.

But she is intrigued by Emmet the moment he explains just what her barbs are doing. So - so it's not on purpose, it really is accidental? Her body flattens them on instinct, but she keeps listening.]

So it is innate to ourselves...based on what kind of creature we are. Does...do creatures like me only have this Ability, or is there something else I could have...

[outbounds]

Poison Point is most common. Natural defense mechanism of the species. Some Nidoran will have, hmm, Rivalry instead I think. Competitive but only with others of the same gender. Show more strength in battle when trying to win against another of the same, the opposite if they are not.

Technically there are Hidden Abilities too. Used to be just from the Pokemon one would meet in the Dream World and Entree Forest, but there are other ways of finding them popping up now. Still, it is very rare in comparison. Nidoran's is... Hustle? Boosts strength but at the cost of becoming more inaccurate with attacks. [ He's more familiar with what they get at final evolution, which is... ] Becomes Sheer Force eventually.

Anyway. There are special treatments to switch abilities where I come from, yup. But I do not know if equivalents exist here.

[ me, mouthing at the mainline games: what the hell kind of medicine is the ability capsule, gene therapy??? is the ability patch some sort of secret forbidden transdermal hormone therapy to switch ability phenotype or something????? anyway it's this kind of stuff that floats to mind passively for Emmet, though he's not actively trying to send it because, well, it's probably close to information overload for someone who isn't neck deep in competitive battling and Pokemon breeding like he is? Firoza's free to get echoes of it, though, since it's pretty near to the front of the psychic link. ]

[bladeofnymeia]

[She might get some of that? But the most feedback Emmet get is just

It's frustration.]

So I - I could have been different. If we were in your world, I could yet be...

[She. She doesn't...want to hurt people like this. Not like this. Not with poison of all things.]

[outbounds]

[ Wait, wait, this is not what he meant to do, the public network is a terrible place to accidentally push someone into these kinds of feelings, ]

Wait. Please wait. Apply the brakes before you become derailed. I said I do not know. That is not the same as them not existing here.

If you have questions. Do you want to continue this conversation elsewhere?

[bladeofnymeia]

I...

[Does she?

Would it matter when it's not something they could change here?]

...No. I apologize. This...let me think on it on my own.

[Just stuff it down into the furthest corner of her brain and ignore it as it festers and rots, that's fine.]

[outbounds]

[ Oh. Okay. Probably if this were physical space there'd be a faint whine in the back of his throat, his ears pinning back.

Since it isn't, there's just going to be a long delay before a faint, subdued last message comes through the link. ]

... Sorry. Let me know. If you need something.

[bladeofnymeia]

I shall.

[A pause.]

Apologies. Again.