tabularasa_rp | December Prompts

"I guess I remember a few things, but it's been almost 30 years since then and I wasn't at it for long." How to throw a punch, how to get out of the way of a punch coming at you, things like that. Though funnily enough he's a very peaceful man out of the ring; it's rare that he gets mad enough to want to hit someone, and even rarer that he actually does it. (Ending fights is another matter altogether, but he doesn't start them.)

He nods eagerly at the mention of Pokemon.

"Oh, yes! I'd say it's our most popular sport. It's more of a intellectual sport than a physical one, at least on the trainer's end; battles aren't nearly as physically taxing to them as the Pokemon. A trainer uses instinct and strategy to help their Pokemon win battles, not muscles. But don't worry, serious injuries are rare and the Pokemon enjoy it -- they let us know if they don't!"

So while it might be physically similar to dog-fighting, on a moral and ethical level it's completely different, since the Pokemon can consent to it and the whole thing was their idea in the first place.

Edited 2020-12-08 04:27 (UTC)

[Like chess but with monsters - neat!]

So I guess these things—- er, Pokémon, I mean - must be pretty smart.

[Dogs is the first thing he thinks of. Dogs are pretty smart, right? Or dolphins? He’s heard dolphins are smart...?

[But these are monsters. Monsters have to be way smarter, right?]

He nods again.

"They vary in intelligence, some are even more intelligent than humans," Alakazam and similar Psychic-types come to mind, "but they're all at least smart enough to be trained and to be our companions. And of course, they all have their own personalities." Because it takes intelligence to have different personalities, right? Dumb animals, the ones so dumb they can't even be said to have feelings... do they really have personalities?

[Iwa would probably argue that most animals have personalities, but then again, he’s probably say the same for different volleyballs too.]

That’s insane. [More intelligent than a human?] Not gonna lie, but I think I’d kill to have one of my own.

I’m pretty decent with strategy, I think. At least on the court. Might make a halfway decent trainer if I could.

[If only...]

"Well, you don't have to kill for it. The jewelry store sells Pokeballs," kind of? It sells jewels that can be turned in for random Pokeballs, "and the creatures here are close enough to Pokemon to use them. Do you know how to use one?" He's seen him throw one, of course, but there's a bit more to using a Pokeball than that. And speaking of things not being as simple as they seem....

"There's more to being a trainer than battling, you know. You have to take care of your Pokemon too; feed them, groom them, take them for check-ups, make sure they're healthy and happy." Not that he doubts the boy would do all of that, nor is he trying to discourage him -- just reminding him that there's a lot of responsibility involved in being a trainer, too.

[Iwaizumi’s eyes widen a bit at the mention of Pokéballs in the jewelry store.]

Really? I mean, I only used one that one time, but—-

They can catch the weird things wandering around this place? Those are kind of like Pokémon, right? [Not as big as this guy, but Oak did say there were all sorts of different ones in all shapes and sizes.]

I know, I know - just like you would with a pet, right? [Enough about that.] Would you show me?

He laughs lightly and good-naturedly, but nods. He picks the weight he was using back up, though.

"Sure, but I have to put this away first." He frowns over at the bins that all the sports equipment is being stored in. "It's all a disorganized mess... we need to get shelves or something in here so we can store everything properly."

Hm. [Iwaizumi observes the mess as well, lips twisting into a frown.] Yeah, maybe at the beach or something.

I’ll go looking when I have a minute. [First, Pokémon please - he doesn’t say it, but he definitely thinks it.] This gym...

I’m pretty sure it came from some of my memories, but it’s not exactly like it was at home. [Still, it leaves him with some sense of responsibility to take care of it.] I’ll get it together somehow.

"Yes, that's the case with everything here, even the creatures. Whatever's creating things from our memories is mashing them together, I think, that's why everything isn't quite like how it is at home."

He stands up to put the weight somewhere it won't be in the way or get tripped over. "If you'd like some help organizing this place, you can always call on me, I don't mind." He's already helped moved a couch, and there's not much demanding his time here anyway.

But sensing the boy's eagerness, he starts leading the way to the jewelry store; they can talk more on the way.

Yeah, okay. [He probably won’t call on anyone, he thinks - this feels a little personal, after all - but if he were to, Oak wouldn’t be a bad option. Maybe he’ll see how this trip to the jewelry store goes.]

So, what you’re saying about memories - that kind of would make the animals here mish mash Pokémon too. Is that what you mean?

"Some of them, yes. A few of them have traits that definitely come from Pokemon, but others are completely new to me." Even the ones that don't have any traits from Pokemon remind him of Pokemon, like the winged giraffes and the biting trash cans, but that's probably because Pokemon are so diverse that just about anything could be a Pokemon and he wouldn't be surprised.

"Remember that little creature you were trying to make friends with when I found you? That had some traits from a Pokemon -- the face and wings of a Pidgey." He's shown him his sketches by now, right? He had a drawing of a Pidgey in there.

Oh yeah, like that bird you showed me! [Pidgey - he’ll have to remember that.]

You think we could find ourselves one of those? [Not exactly a giant dragon beast, but cool nonetheless, and pretty...cute too.

[But he’s getting ahead of himself. First they have to get one of those Pokéballs.]

"They're common enough, and I think they'd make for a good first companion." Them or the Smeargles; the various robots will likely be harder to tame, and are more suited for someone with more experience.

Oh, look, they made it to the jewelry store!

"Take some of those colored stones," he gestures, "and put them in one of those machines over there."

Yeah, okay.

[Iwaizumi observes the stones, and seems to take his time deciding which would be the right to take - this has gotta be an important decision, right? Eventually he plucks a blue one from off the display, holding it up for Oak to see.]

Will this one work?

Sam shakes his head with a gentle smile.

"I don't think it matters which one you take, just don't take the colorless ones." Those are diamonds and might have some actual practical use outside of trading for Pokeballs. "You might want to take more than one, Pokeballs can fail." It depends on what method he wants to use to capture a creature, really -- but they can talk about that in a moment.

Oh. [Iwaizumi looks a bit perplexed at that, be he supposes it makes sense, and why not have a couple on hand anyway? All this stuff is pretty much free as it is. He plucks a couple more gems off the table - all blue.]

Alright. What now?

Again, he gestures at the machines along the wall.

"Put them in some of those machines and turn the handle. Have you used that kind of machine before?" He'd be surprised if he hasn't. His clothes look pretty modern, and machines like that (usually selling cheap toys) can be found in all sorts of stores; maybe when he was younger...?

It’s like a gacha machine, right? Yeah, I have.

[Who hasn’t? Though usually they accept money or tokens, not crystals. Even so, he easily finds where to insert the thing and does so, then watches in eager anticipation for what the machine will produce - a small sphere-like object, similar to the one he’d thrown with Oak weeks earlier, though this one blue with two red spots on it. His eyes light up like a Christmas tree as he takes it into his hands.]

Woah...

Just like that, huh?

December Prompts

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