Week 10.

[azumods]

WEEK 10 You've found a few new friends this past week, and along with them, a new town to explore. Granted, there doesn't seem to be much, particularly when compared to the cities you started out in; at the same time, the air is fresh with the scent of flowers and honey wafting on the breeze. Along with the usual Pokémon that can be found in populated areas, it seems that several Combees have made their home here - they can be found drifting along idly, seeming no more capable of true emotion than anyone or anything else, but perhaps they're trying their best. It's a little difficult to say; they are still bees, after all. That said, the world continues to change around you, bit by bit; you still have a long way to go before you've saved everyone, but for the time being you should probably recharge, and take some time to sort through what should happen next. Talking to the locals may net you the information that there's something odd about the meadow north of town; perhaps a few of you should go to check it out... CURRENT LOCATION: FLOAROMA TOWN POKEMON AVAILABLE: WITHIN CITIES SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY [OOC: Welcome to week ten of Azume; feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend.]

Comments

[gekkaju]

[Anyone looking for Atsushi this morning- or anyone who hadn't run into him the day prior- will find him seated on the front steps of the house he'd been staying in for the last few weeks. The locals living there were some of the few in this town that he felt like he "knew" more than the others, but even then they still felt like mostly strangers...which is partly why he's starting to hope more and more that his decision to join this group is the right one. They all seem very nice, and willing to help him as much as he's willing to help them...and if they're helping out this world, then he feels like maybe there's some worth in having a part in that.

He has his elbows resting on his knees, his palms against his cheeks as he watches his Wimpod scuttling across the grass in front of him. Over the last several weeks he's watched Chazuke change in subtle ways, becoming more alert and less blank and listless, similar to the way the people of this town had. Compared to the companions of this new group, though...he's still pretty much a mystery to Atsushi.

He sighs, letting one hand drop between his legs while the other continues to prop up his head.]

Nobody really seems to know anything about you, including me...what can you do, Chazuke?

[The Wimpod looks up at Atsushi for a long moment, blinks, then returns to pushing his way through the short grass around his trainer's feet.]

[takestheblame]

Having trouble with your partner?

[Well it's not trouble caused by your partner, so that's good. Hello, newcomer! Here's Kazuma Kiryu, approaching with his Pancham beside him. Kiryu thought he should greet the new member of the traveling crew, and when he was approaching he heard Atsushi's sigh]

[gekkaju]

[If Chazuke were causing trouble, Atsushi would probably be at far more of a loss than he is already. He looks up as he's addressed through, presented with a new face and yet another new Pokemon he hasn't seen before.]

Sort of...the rest of you seem pretty close with your Pokemon, but I guess that's because you've been with them longer...and traveling with them.

That...and I don't know anything about mine other than his species.

[And even that's a mystery.]

[takestheblame]

[Hm...sounds like you haven't been that long with your partner, Atsushi]

You should try to connect with him even if you don't know anything. Better not force anything.

[Besides, the attention may make your Wimpod here tell you about himself! Somehow! Even if it's an opinion.

At least that's what Kiryu hopes]

Looks like some sort of sea creature.

[gekkaju]

Hm...

[Atsushi sits up so he can reach down and pick up the Wimpod, turning him around in his hands so he can hold him up and look at him. He doesn't protest any beyond wiggling his multiple legs a little.]

He could be. I wasn't sure if he was a crab or a bug or what.

[At least bug is half right.]

He's not been aggressive or anything to me, at least...and he hasn't left like I thought he would.

[takestheblame]

It depends on you now, no reason to leave you. [It's kind of a cute bug, if bizarre] Did you give him a name already?

[enjoymyatelier]

[oh, it's the new guy. and he's having trouble figuring out his pokemon... hm...]

Well, one of the odd things that we've been having a bit of trouble with is that our Pokemon aren't native to this region, for the most part. It makes it harder to figure out what our Pokemon are capable of.

[gekkaju]

[Atsushi looks up when he sees another unfamiliar face appear as Chazuke continues to make a path through the grass, weaving through and around his feet. It won't be long before he's pressed the grass into a little trough...and where he's headed even he doesn't know.]

Yeah...someone else mentioned that, too. All I really know is his name.

[Which doesn't help much. What does Wimpod mean? He really hopes that 'wimp' has nothing to do with it, but KNOWING HIS LUCK...]

One of the locals told me that a Pokemon...Center? might be of some help, but I haven't been to one yet.

[enjoymyatelier]

It's possible. Perhaps I ought to grill a nurse on what the medical education here is actually like one of these days.

In any case, though, what is the name of your Pokemon, then? The species, I mean.

[gekkaju]

[What do you have against nurses bro]

He's...called a Wimpod.

[A Wimp Pod. He's still coming to terms with it.]

[enjoymyatelier]

[HE JUST WANTS TO KNOW, OKAY

but ah hmmm...]

Well, there are Pokemon that are a bit difficult to raise because they start out on the weaker end of things, but they're definitely worth it in the end. A native Pokemon like that is Magikarp, which is basically useless until it evolves into a powerful Gyarados.

[thunderwolf]

[Ah, this must be the newest member of the group that Eustace heard talk of. He ventured all the way out here, huh... Well, Eustace figures he should venture up and introduce himself.

So hi Atsushi, here's a dude with actual animal ears coming over. And as he does, he can't help but overhear...]

I take it you ended up with a Pokemon not from this region too.

[That's...not an introduction. But he'll get there... His curiosity came first, apparently.]

[gekkaju]

Ah-

[...Ahh???

Atsushi goes still when he looks up at Eustance, the sight of the ears atop his head enough to make anything he was going to say die on his tongue. Everyone else here has seemed more-or-less human with the slight exception of Zelda, but this guy...

He just barely stops himself from reaching up and feeling his own head to make sure he's not crazy and his own abilities just aren't late in manifesting here...but that's probably not something to worry about now if they haven't been active for an entire month.

He thinks. He hopes.]

I...I think so? That would explain why the only thing I know is his name...but nothing else at all. No abilities or...anything like that.

[thunderwolf]

[Wow. That sure was a reaction. No one's reacted to him quite like that.

Eustace squints at Atsushi for a moment...and then flicks one of his ears. He saw the staring. He doesn't actually bring any further attention to it though, and simply keeps up the conversation about Chazuke.]

A name as in what his species is?

[gekkaju]

[It's fine that reaction probably didn't mean anything at all.

But to that, Atsushi nods.]

Took over a month to figure it out, but...he's called a Wimpod. That's really all I know about him, though.

[thunderwolf]

Wimpod, huh... [He's not at all familiar with it. This is the first one he's come across, which matches up to the speculation that it might not be from Sinnoh.] It's something to go off of. You'll be able to check for it in books.

[Faster than carefully flipping through pages for a picture, at least.

He crosses his arms thoughtfully. He's pretty much in the same boat as Atsushi in a way, so he'll offer this:]

I still don't actually know what my partner is.

[bloodspent]

[Oh, hey, it's the kid from yesterday. Jake is just kind of here today, because this town is an experience he isn't too sure he likes, and he's got Cvetka out with him right now and he's carrying the Shellos as best he can seeing as she is in fact a sea slug. He's got her wrapped kind of haphazardly in a jacket that's definitely seen better days.]

...He looks like a man on a mission. Don't you, guy?

[That last part is addressed to the Wimpod, whom he expects to not actually give an entire damn about him or his opinion, before he returns his attention to Atsushi.]

They take a little while to figure out. Don't worry if you haven't gotten it down yet.

[gekkaju]

[Between Chazuke the Isopod-thing and now the sea slug Shellos that Jake has with him, Atsushi's being introduced to a lot of presumable weird sea life that he didn't even know existed. Then again, he didn't know what Pokemon were in general until just a few weeks ago.

As expected, the Wimpod just continues scurrying on his merry way to...somewhere. Maybe he's looking for something, or maybe he's just scuttling through the grass because he feels safer being partially hidden beneath its length.]

Right...I was getting worried since it's been so long and I still don't really know much more than I first did, but I'm going to see if I can find some books that might tell me more about what he is.

[It's a long shot, but he's got nothing else to do.]

Pokemon...all have types, right? So...maybe he's probably a bug?

[bloodspent]

[You know what, Chazuke don't give a fuck and Jake can respect that.]

Yeah, he looks like he might be. Either that or one of those things that lives in the deep ocean, you know?

[He shrugs.]

We found some books and stuff in Veilstone while we were there, but they just had Sinnoh Pokémon in them. We're going somewhere with a library after we've found the last Lake Guardian, though, so maybe you'll have better luck there.

[gekkaju]

[Atsushi nods, running one of his hands through his awfully cut hair.]

It'd be a start, at least. Honestly I didn't think he'd stick around long enough for me to figure out what he was, but...he's been with me all this time.

[The concept of trainer-pokemon bonds is still a foreign one to Atsushi considering how...blank everything's been, but he might be starting to understand it a bit more now that he's seen the way the others act with the members of their own teams. Or the way Jake's carrying around that Shellos like it's just a thing to do.]

[bloodspent]

[Cvetka is a patient slug that likes being held, ruining Jake's clothes, and staring at things.]

Yeah, they tend to stick around. As long as you're nice to 'em, they're pretty okay with people. It's kinda weird for me because we don't have anything like this back home, but you get used to it.

[semistableman]

[Bucky had definitely noticed the newcomer to their group, but didn't approach the kid right away. It isn't anything personal, he's just... cautious. But he's over that now, approaching Atsushi. Most noticeable about him is his complete lack of a left arm-- his sweater is neatly pinned up, but the small, scruffy bird sitting on his left shoulder just makes it all the more obvious.]

Interesting friend you've got there. Kinda looks like a horseshoe cab, huh?

[gekkaju]

[Atsushi does his best not to stare for that reason, focusing on what Bucky says instead.]

A horseshoe crab...? I don't think I've ever seen one of those.

[He knew there was some kind of animal out there that was more...crab-like-but-also-not-a-normal-crab that he was trying to think of, but he couldn't put his finger on it.]

[semistableman]

[For what it's worth, he doesn't look too bothered by the avoided stares It's a little hard not to notice, after all.]

Yeah. Honestly, they look a lot like that little guy, only they're brown, and don't have antennae.

[gekkaju]

[That gives him pause.

Does that mean horseshoe crabs might look like giant cockroaches because noooo...just without the antennae obviously.]

I see...I was thinking he might be a crab thing at first...or some kind of bug.

[Which would have been a lot more horrifying if Chazuke wasn't so silly otherwise.]

I wish he'd give me a hint or something...but I'm not sure sometimes if he even knows what he is.