013. [Text/Action for Olivine City, also one other thing]

[explosivecombat]

[ACTION]

[It's incredibly rare to see Kimblee out of that fancy white suit; it's rarer still to see him not wearing it for any reason other than "If I wear it now, I'll get it filthy", "I'm in prison", or "I'm in a hospital and on life support."

While he's not on life support, however, he certainly is in a hospital of some sort - and not as a patient for once, either! Those who enter the Pokémon Center in Olivine City will be treated to Kimblee wearing general hospital scrubs, his hair pulled back in the stupidest french-braid ever to be stupidly french-braided. He isn't terribly interested in trying to mess with the human patients - in fact, he seems rather eager to stay out of the way of those who actually know what they're doing in that regard, as he hasn't been seen back there at all; given that he's filed just about everything he can get his hands on, he's working in the front today, assisting those who bring in Pokémon injured in battle.

And by "working" I mean "today has been ridiculously slow, so he's currently leaning idly over the desk, playing the hell out of the Tetris app on the 'Gear."

At least he's making no secret of his answer to the question of "working hard, or hardly working?"]


[TEXT]

[However, there are some sorts of boredom that even copious amounts of Tetris can't alleviate; at some point today - most likely after Kimblee has realized that he's going to be shifting around falling blocks in his goddamn sleep and he's going to be humming "Korobeiniki" for the next week - there's a text thrown out to the network at large.]

In my experience, there are those who exist to create, and those who exist to destroy. Neither are inherently good, nor are they inherently bad - there are those who create weapons and those who destroy barriers, after all. It's all a matter of how one utilizes their talents.

For the sake of idle curiosity, I have to wonder how many of us that were brought to Johto find themselves drawn to creation, destruction, or something else entirely.


[PRIVATE TEXT TO COBRA COMMANDER]

Position secured. Clearance and access to relevant materials likewise secured. Window of opportunity opens tonight during shift change.

Permission to proceed?

Comments

text;

[skirtchases]

And there are people who exist to destroy but choose to do otherwise.

But I guess that's where the "utilizing talents" thing comes from in your message.

[audio]

[hurtitselfinconfusion]

But... you said there are ones that go beyond that? Like actual explosives?

[explosivecombat]

[Oh, if he ever gets started he will ensure you learn, simply because he never shuts up.]

Believe me, were I a philosopher by profession, I wouldn't be working in a Pokémon Center.

[explosivecombat]

Isaac.

[His tone is rather firm, though it's a bit at odds with his expression, which has shifted back into being...rather amused.]

Believe me, if I'm having some sort of issue in the future, you'll be the first to know, all right?

[audio]

[explosivecombat]

Oh, yes. 'Explosion' is an actual move here - it's incredibly powerful, and it does exactly what it says.

[explosivecombat]

My thoughts exactly, actually; it's plain that this world doesn't see the battling aspect as cruelty - if anything, everything about it encourages the battling, to say nothing of the fact that the Pokémon seem, for all intents and purposes, unable to die regardless of what one does to them. If they were normal animals, then yes, training them to...well, explode, for example, would surely be horribly cruel - but that's something that several species of these creatures learn to do on their own, and they rather seem to enjoy it besides.

Adapt and overcome, really. If one can do that, then excellent; otherwise...arguing or "getting up in arms," as you put it, is a largely pointless endeavor, I think.

[glaciates]

[You have this way of getting him to sit down and shut up just by sounding vaguely disappointed in him. Goddamn, Kimblee.]

...Alright. Thanks.

[That said, he does look quite pleased with that; it's not a solution to the issue at hand now, but he's confident you'll find some way to fix this. Either that or your Archer will shriek at you until you do.]

text;

[explosivecombat]

That was the intended point, yes. Do you have some sort of personal experience with this, or is it speculation?

[explosivecombat]

[His Archer is very good at that, isn't he...

orz]

Of course, Isaac.

So have you received the badge you came here for yet, or...?

[glaciates]

[Yes... yes he is...]

Oh yeah, I did. I've only got two left now.

[Well, alright, we can switch topics if you really want... Not like he's 8Ding and seeking approval or anything!!]

[explosivecombat]

[...holy shit, son]

You only just arrived in February, didn't you?

[glaciates]

Yeah, on the sixth!

[What, is that some kind of record or something?]

[explosivecombat]

[Hell if I know; go ask Mustang.]

Well. I'm certainly impressed.

[because holy shit, son]

[glaciates]

[ 8D!!!!!!!!!! ]

Well, thanks. I mean, there's really not much else to do here.

[explosivecombat]

Perhaps not, but it's still an accomplishment either way.

[glaciates]

Thanks. I guess I'll look into getting the badges in Kanto after I'm done here. I'm really not sure what else I should do.

[Because challenging the Elite Four is out of the question. They're still not open, right? Eh, doesn't matter anyway. He'd really rather not put that theory to the test and return home. Since y'know, he's kind of dead back there.]

[explosivecombat]

I understand the feeling; I've just finished the challenge myself. I'm not sure how eager I am to change regions entirely just yet, but I'm sure it'll happen eventually.

[glaciates]

Yeah? Then what are you going to do here? I guess you're still working on getting info from Team Rocket, so moving over to Kanto might not be the best idea anyway.

[...Speaking of that...]

How's that going?

[explosivecombat]

[...welp

back into Son, I Am Disappoint mode, hang on]

This isn't the place for that, Isaac.

[glaciates]

[Oh orz...]

Ah, yeah, you're right. Sorry.

[orz orz orz orz orz orz orz]

[doitrockapella]

[And she would enjoy every minute of it.]

I'm surprised there aren't more of them around, frankly, in a world that seems to boast such a high number of young kings and budding heroes.

[explosivecombat]

This world seems incredibly action-oriented; from what I've seen, it seems to favor those who will cause chaos, and those that will restore order.

Philosophers don't seem to appear here unless they're already inclined toward one or the other, which sort of defies the point of impartial study.

[islandshore]

Man, I almost forgot about Explosion and Selfdestruct. Moves like those would be suicidal anywhere else, but the fact that plenty of Pokémon learn them naturally is pretty telling. Especially since it's perfectly legal to use those moves in battles.

[...Come to think of it...]

It's funny because a lot of moves could easily be turned against people and cause serious damage, but that seems like a non-issue most of the time.

[explosivecombat]

That says a fair amount about both the Pokémon themselves and the trainers that raise them, I think. After all, the fact that Frustration exists - as a potentially very powerful move, no less, depending on how much one's Pokémon despises their trainer - raises an interesting point when it comes to exactly how much these creatures are willing to put up with without attacking a human regardless of how much they hate the human in question. I suppose the implications of that have potential to be either heartwarming or horrifying, depending on the situation.

However, these creatures can be trained to attack humans; from what I understand, members of Team Rocket have done so in the past. But given the fact that such practices are generally kept to crime syndicates and are looked upon, in some circumstances, as abusing the Pokémon being made to attack a target it's obviously reluctant to go after in the first place...it's obvious that a Pokémon attacking a human for any reason is seen as some sort of horrible abomination in this world - never the fault of the Pokémon, but always the fault of the trainer.

The implications are interesting, to say the least.

[islandshore]

Frustration and Return are both pretty interesting, since they've got equal potential to deal heavy damage. Guess it all depends on the trainer's preferences. It's easier to find the TM for Return, but not everyone wants to go the extra mile to gain their Pokémon's trust.

And it's funny that you mention Pokémon attacks, especially since my Aerodactyl will attack almost any human that gets too close. I've always taken the blame for it, like you said, even if it's in her nature to act violently. Who's to say some Pokémon just can't play nice?