Video (CW for discussing the ethics of hunting);

[truthdecided]

[It's on a chilly morning that Akechi greets the network, bundled up in his sweater and the cloak hiding the last traces of his molt.]

A thought occurred to me. Those of you who hunt... how do you reconcile the act of hunting with the fact that Pokémon are all of relatively similar intelligence?

[His voice is calm, his expression relaxed, as if he's merely entertaining a thought experiment.]

This is not my attempt to shame anyone. I am aware that residents of the world also hunt, yet every Pokémon seems capable of eating alternative forms of food. Berries, poffins, Poképuffs, curry... With the city bringing together such a variety of creatures, it does make hunting all the more perplexing from an ethical and philosophical standpoint.

So, humor me, if you feel so inclined. I'm genuinely curious how one reconciles such an ethical quandary.

Comments

video;

[firealone]

[His time to shine... because he's been thinking about this for months.]

Cooked food is kind of gross... I'm used to it now and it's better than kibble, but nothing beats bringing home fresh-kill and knowing I caught it myself. Especially if I can bring back more for the city than I'm eating myself.

[He hesitates - he's a little less sure of this part.]

I know they can think, but... it's hard to completely ignore my instincts. Cats eat mice and Littens eat Rattatas, so all of me wants to hunt.

[truthdecided]

It makes sense. You are and were a cat. Hunting and survival are only natural, and as you said, the resident wild Pokémon will also do the same.

[So he nods. There's no judgment here. Given his crimes, it's hardly his place.]

But it begs the question of how the society functions so harmoniously within city walls, while instinct prevails among those beyond the city. I wonder how they all internalize it.

audio

[edgewater]

A girl's gotta eat, doesn't she?

[ surprisingly, parvati's not actually had a whole lot of issues with this whole affair probably because tinkatons are incredibly predisposed to murder ] And besides, we're basically all animals. Still a food chain.

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[fromsprouts]

[He looks perhaps a little sheepish. He hasn't been open with everyone about the fact he's been going hunting.]

For me, it's...actively participating in this world. Not seeing myself as above or different from wild Pokemon because I was human before. Laios and I had a talk about this a while back, and he pointed out that, like. If he fought a wild Pokemon and lost, there's every chance he would be eaten, and that helped me understand the idea.

I think a lot of us have this temptation to see ourselves as more civilized, separate from those who live outside the settlements. And I don't think that divide is a healthy one.

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[shotinhead]

[ Casually, without missing a beat: ] Not all Pokemon are of relatively similar intelligence.

[truthdecided]

Are you referring to the Pokémon who have attacked over the passing months? The ones we cannot reason with?

[Or is it something else? Hmm... Tell him more.]

[truthdecided]

True. By all accounts, there is a food chain, yet within the walls of the city and the outpost, hunting is murder.

[There's a morbid edge of amusement to his words.]

The ethical lines are blurred. All standards mean nothing in the wild.

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[dunchies]

Well...

[ He has a lot to say on this topic, but he's going to focus on Akechi's point first. ]

People eat octopus back home [ gross ] but they're known to be pretty intelligent. Pigs too, actually. Intelligence shouldn't be the line drawn when humans have walked back and forth on that constantly.

[truthdecided]

[Far be it from Akechi to judge, given his past. He listens attentively, bringing a wing below his beak.]

I have to wonder how the native residents of this world feel. Within the city and the outpost, there are laws and ethics. Technically speaking, those laws somewhat apply beyond the city's walls, given our brushes with outlaws.

Yet those who live in the wild hunt and survive as any wild animal would, despite being fully sapient and capable of communicating with us.

[edgewater]

We're just a bunch of animals playing people, if you look at it that way. [ a pause. ] How awkward do you find it, personally?

not here but;

[wolfcut]

[ So true bestie. ]

[truthdecided]

Quite true. Pigs are even more intelligent than dogs, yet dogs in many countries are seen as loyal companions, while pigs are ripe for the slaughter.

[It's precisely the kind of point he'd hoped someone would bring to the table. He's even grinning.]

But it's a bit more blurred when we can all understand one another.

[shotinhead]

[ Nah. He gives a mental shrug again. ] You ever met a Parasect?

[truthdecided]

Frankly, it's the fact that it's so swept under the rug that fascinates me.

[He snorts.]

The guilds contain Pokémon who could devour one another with ease, yet they all coexist. Birds amongst the canopy, for instance, when birds are drawn toward bugs for sustenance.

not quite even audio

[pyrodulia]

[There's a psychic impression of amusement, as if the person responding has never considered ethics in that frame at all and finds the idea sort of absurd. But it doesn't get as far as words.]

[edgewater]

[ parvati liked that. ]

video (general cw for subsistence hunting and also for humans getting hunted ig)

[offtracks]

I have not hunted while here, but I have hunted Pokemon as a human. That is probably a bit different, but we certainly do understand that Pokemon are intelligent all the same. Yet we would not survive without doing so.

[ Humans certainly do need meat! Or, at least, one would have a very difficult time indeed maintaining a healthy vegetarian diet in the wilds of Hisui. Not to mention that they'd all probably freeze to death first, without furs and hides... ]

There are certain rituals passed down to us that must be followed. One is to use all possible parts of the body, and then say a prayer of thanks to the Pokemon while returning what remains to their home. So, Pokemon caught in streams should be returned to the water, and those on land may be buried. That way, they may be reborn - or, so it is said. And of course one should not take more than required, or else Pokemon-kind shall exact their toll in turn.

I cannot say that it has never weighed on me. Many of my dear friends are Pokemon! But such is the way of life, and the Pokemon themselves understand that perfectly well. They will hunt humans in return, if given the opportunity. I have won all such battles that I have faced, but perhaps one day I will not, and then it will be my turn as prey. As long as we are all conducting ourselves according to the rules, it is a fair enough competition.

[edgewater]

Not to mention the amount of Pokemon parts you need to make stuff. Bones and the like. [ akechi can probably hear the gears turning in her head. ]

[truthdecided]

Ah, yes. The Pokémon equivalent of the cordyceps fungus.

[One might find his chuckle concerning.]

Quite a strange specimen. Evolution robs the Paras of its mind, leaving merely a husk that the fungus commands.

[truthdecided]

True, though there are "ethical" options in theory. Shed feathers from Skarmory or Corviknight, the bones generated by Cubone or Marowak...

[Though, really, he's merely making examples. The point still stands.]

Obviously, there are limitations, particularly in the realm of progress.

[truthdecided]

[Akechi sends his own amused ripple in turn.]

You find this all entertaining, I take it?

cw: drug reference

[shotinhead]

[ Oh, he likes that chuckle. There's almost a pleased whump of a tail though the audio feed. ]

Thus, if th'body is already taken over, what's to say it's still intelligent, or even really a livin' Pokemon? All that's left are the shrooms controllin' their minds. [ A beat. ] Not even in the fun way, either.

[fromsprouts]

And with one another. It's part of life, for them. I imagine the idea of hunting something that can't communicate would seem cruel and foreign to them.

[firealone]

The Pokemon outside of the walls are wild. They can join the city, but if they don't they're accepting the chance of seeing us in battle. It's not too different from living in the forest - we weren't supposed to make friends with cats outside our Clan, because one day we might have to take their life.

[He's the closest the newcomers have to a feral animal, so he figures the native Pokemon are thinking something along the same lines.]

...I've made mistakes, though, so I try not to hunt when new Pokemon are showing up. That's, um... how I met Bigby.

[offtracks]

[ with the mental equivalent of a thousand-yard stare ]

There are entirely different reasons why you would not wish to hunt that line.