explosivecombat | 006. [Text/Action for Goldenrod City/Northern Route 34]

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While I suppose it matters relatively little in the long run, morbid curiosity compels -

Exactly how driven are most of you to complete this 'challenge' that's been set forth, and what drives you to complete it in the first place - what do you have to return to?

[ACTION]

[A short time after that text hits the network, Kimblee can be found just outside of Goldenrod City, on the northern end of Route 34; if the question is at all related to anything he's currently doing, it's not obvious in the least...outside of the part where maybe the Pokémon he's dealing with might be making him not want to live on this planet anymore.

Basically, his Yanma evolved.

Fortunately for him, the hellbug she has become seems to have retained her personality despite the evolution. She's honestly always been more like a dog than an oversized dragonfly; now she's just...well, a sufficiently larger dog. As such, she's bringing Kimblee a decently-sized stick to toss off into the nearby cluster of trees for her to chase; Kimblee is complying with her, albeit warily - he's never had much of a poker face, and while he seems generally calm, it's reasonably plain that he's half-expecting her to do something odd.

Like snap his arm off to get at the stick. Or maybe bring him back a person, or something.

Either way, he's clearly wondering what the hell his life has become. Good afternoon, Johto, it's been a while.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The "video games"...?

[I AM FROM TECHNOLOGICALLY BACKWARDS 1915 AND WHAT IS THIS]

Yeah! You know, like virtual simulations of other worlds that you play out through a screen!

[YEAH. This conversation is going to hurt, sorry ~~but not really~~, Kimblee.]

[...o...kay, right. This is...

...yep.]

No, I'm afraid I don't know. What?

[...What the... How can he not understand?!]

...What kind of technology are you used to?

[All...right, maybe you're one of those people from the future? He's met a fair amount of people from the future...]

I understand that many things have changed since 1915, let's put it that way.

[Uh... right. He can do this.]

Yeah, they have. Let's see... Well. Think of a movie, right? Then just imagine being able to play the character on screen. It's like that?

You mean controlling the character themselves?

[...well. Wait.]

Or, well, I imagine complete control wouldn't make too much sense, would it - you're referring to these things as a game, so there must be some sort of goal in mind...so I'm guessing it's basically allowing you to interact with the plot as opposed to just watching. Is that right?

That's it, yeah! You just get to play out the story, so it's more interactive than a movie.

So uh, in my world anyway, Pokemon was a game where you played as a trainer going around Kanto!

[...oh my god this actually sounds really goddamn awesome holy shit

why does all the awesome technological stuff happen after his era

next you'll be telling him you've figured out flight or something]

Well, that certainly does sound interesting! Am I to assume you have these creatures where you're from, then?

[Yeah man, don't ask. You'll end up so jealous. He'd know, he's seen it all develop over time. So really... he's from before and after Kimblee's era and seen it all.]

It is! I love video games! Though uh, no. Pokemon only exist in the games back home, so it's kind of like we've been sent into a video game... sort of?

...That actually makes sense - it's as though someone has cultivated the environment to replicate that of the game, taking the player-interaction element to its logical extreme.

Of course, I'm still not sure how such a thing would be entirely physically possible, but it certainly puts an interesting perspective on it.

Yeah, that's why a few people are more able to take on the challenge than others too, I think?

I know I'd be a bit more wary if I wasn't so familiar with the concept.

Well, a fair few seem interested in taking the challenge just for the challenge's sake; we've got quite the interesting lot of people here, really. Though I can't say that I disagree with that line of thinking, either.

I guess some people like to take challenges! Though yeah, everyone's different as well, so.

Indeed.

So is this entire...scenario, I suppose, seeming to be the same as it plays out in your video game?

Uh... not exactly, actually. In the video game you travel through Kanto, not Johto. Which is why I was a bit confused. Some of the Pokemon in this world don't exist in the game too.

006. [Text/Action for Goldenrod City/Northern Route 34]

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