.I realize that I’d set my éTech to ‘read out loud’ so Twilight and Rarity, who heard all the entries on Zubzilla, are staring at me in horrified shock. I really can’t think of anything to say, so I figure I’d let the mares speak first.
“Th- that sounds awful!” Rarity says, the first to be able to say anything. Twilight looks to shocked to actually speak, just dumbly staring at the device in my hands.
“Well... it could be worse right? They could be actively hostile. And live on more than one island on the entire planet... Plus, a trained one would be fantastic.” I fail at reassuring the girls, but fail even more at trying to reassure myself.
“It... it hunts people?” Twilight’s question is accompanied by a fearful tremor in her voice.
I shrug. That’s not new to the pokemon world, that humans can be targets. “Well, it’s a carnivore, and I guess people are the best for larger pokemon, seeing as how we are bigger than plenty of pokemon, so we would be more filling. And we have no chance at fighting back, because we’re pretty much just squishy meat-bags in a fight.” I pause for a moment. “Life’s a bitch ain’t it?”
Twilight and Rarity just look at me like I’m crazy.
“Well what do you expect? We’re hairless apes in a world where a potato has more defensive capabilities. We just happen to be a lot more adaptable and resourceful. It’s why trained pokemon are tougher, they’ve got a leader rather than just instinct. But technically if we didn’t have that, humans would have gone extinct years ago on this world. We only survive because we make up for lack of power.”
Twilight and Rarity exchange glances, but nod. “This... this world seems a lot more dangerous than it did at first glance.”
“And I’m sure Equestria is completely free of dangers. No such things as living mountain-ranges, giant flying scorpion-lions, fire-breathing dragons, numerous creatures with petrification abilities, hostile wood constructs... need I go on?”
“Uh- uhm, I sorta see your point... but ponies can take care of most of those problems pretty easily. We have magic. Humans don’t, you’ve said this many times. How did you get to the point where all of this, living with pokemon and being able to simply catch them is a normal thing?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. I’m not terribly well-versed in the history of this world. I’d suggest we find a library or something if we want answers to that. But I think it’s clear we survived by having a mildly symbiotic relationship with pokemon. That Nidoking in Krosa forest for example. You couldn’t concentrate to use your magic. If it weren’t for Spheal, we’d be messy, trampled pancakes.”
“Well, to be fair, anyone can be caught off-guard.” Twilight mumbles, turning away from me.
“Whatever, I’m just tired of saying over and over that this world is dangerous and that we should just live with it. I mean, it can be a great place too. Twilight, when Tepig evolved, how did that make you feel?”
“I- I don’t know how to describe it. I felt... accomplished.”
“Why? Tepig did all the work, you just told it what to do. Sure you feed him, and care for him, but there’s plenty of food and comfort for a Tepig out in the wild. That’s what I mean by semi-symbiotic. Technically you don’t really need each other, but once you are together, you share your experiences. Fear, happiness, sadness, accomplishments... That’s how it works.”
“So... friendship, basically.”
“Yeah, but kinda different. I mean, sure some people get along without pokemon, and some people don’t even like pokemon, or just treat them as a means to an end that benefits them. But in the end, when you have a pokemon, it’s less of a friend and more of a life-partner. A pokemon can grow to trust you and care for you. That’s why pokemon abandonment is treated so harshly. It’s not illegal per se, but socially, it can be one of the most cruel things you can do.”
Twilight and Rarity nod. “I would never abandon a friend!” Twilight says. “And I’d never abandon a pokemon, regardless of being a friend or not.”
“Some people will do horrible things to pokemon, and most of the time, they do it knowing it’s wrong but they do it anyway. Like the Chainers. The point is, yeah, the world’s really crappy, but it’s not all bad as long as we have our pokemon and prove that treating them badly is never the answer. Even if you can make insane profits on them, it’s not really just to do so.”
Rarity seems to take that in stride, but Twilight looks a little down.
“Think of it this way: We’re the example, but some just don’t follow it. There are bad people, just like there are bad pokemon or bad ponies. But we just need to ignore them, and teach them a lesson if we come across them. The world is dangerous, but that doesn’t mean we should just give up, go home, and hide under our covers. Imagine how little we’d know if that was everyone’s mindset? How far would Starswirl have gotten if his ideal was ‘I’d rather not test or experiment, because the unknown can be dangerous. I won’t bother.’?”
Twilight heaves a sigh. “That’s... that’s not the problem. Those ‘Chainers’. They were going to kill us, just because we were there. They- they didn’t even know us. I could understand if one had looked into something maddening, and gone crazy; that’s happened before. But an entire group, so casually discussing murdering people? Stealing pokemon? Friends, essentially? Why? Why would anyone do that?”
I shrug. “I don’t know because I don’t know what their goal is. And they probably do it because it helps them achieve their goal somehow, and if that’s the case, who cares what they do in the process of reaching said goal? They seem to be in the mentality of the ends justifying the means, which makes killing random, innocent passerby totally okay from their point of view. And those are the kind of people that need to be stopped or they just keep doing it.”
Twilight nods. “I- I guess. uhm... Let’s just- just keep going. For now. I need to think, if that’s alright?”
“Alright, but it’s still raining. And for the record, you guys smell awful when wet.”
Twilight simply shrugs. “Alright. I’ll just... be in my tent, then.” She zips the opening closed, and I hear another sigh from her direction. Rarity turns to me.
“She needs time to parse this. Canterlot is a wonderful city if you’re well-connected, but it’s a poor place to learn that there are ponies, and other beings too, that are not intrinsically good or orderly.” Rarity slowly zips up her own tent.
Well, that does make a bit of sense. I guess if you grow up in a place where the worst thing a higher-up can do is call someone a bad name... you don’t get much world experience with mean and nasty folks... man I can’t wait for this rain to stop.
About a day and a half later of the three of us stewing in our separate tents and we, or at least I, am about to crack. Finally though, the rain starts to slow down. Not stop, but the three of us unanimously agree that it’s light enough to walk through. If we don’t get moving soon, I’m gonna go insane.
So we pack up our stuff, do our best to keep it dry while we put it all away, and head off down the trail. I’m glad I at least have a hat.
Along the way, we come across a guy with a huge backpack and a cart being pulled by a Swampert. As we draw close, he slows down, and turns to us. “Hail, travelers!”
“Actually, it’s rain.” I say, not even cracking a smile. I hate being wet... “But if it does start hailing, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Ha! Here, come here. I’ve got an awning on the side here.” He pulls a cord, and a wide awning opens on the side of the cart, and I can see advertisements that had been concealed underneath. Twilight, Rarity, and I all crowd under the awning, as the man smiles. “There, just a little drier, for now. By the way, I’m a traveling trader, if you’re interested in any purchases...?”
“Whaddya have for sale?” I can’t really think of anything we are lacking aside from more potent healing devices. Maybe I could use a few Pokeballs, but those can only be sold by League-approved stores, no way he’d have them. “I doubt you’d have much for us unless you sell umbrellas.”
“Ha, ha! I actually do. However, I specialize in stuff for trainers, mostly Berries and the supplies to grow them. I also have a few of the elemental Gems, and a few of the elemental Stones, though the Stones are rather expensive.”
“Don’t really need any stones or gems. Ya got any Leppa Berries? How about a portable planter, too?”
“Yeah, got a buncha the Leppa berries. I sell ‘em by the box, hunnerd-and-twenty five a box, guaranteed to have at least fifty in the box. I also have Pecha berries, if you’ve got a sweet-tooth, and some boxes of Oran berries. If you want, I have four Sitrus berries, too, but they’re twenty-five apiece.”
He’s pulling small wooden boxes from the back of his covered cart, along with a small canvas bag with double-fist-sized Sitrus berries.
“Yeah, maybe. You got some Berry pots to grow them in? We don’t really have time to sit at a roadside and plant trees, and none of our pokemon can fly us around to check on ‘em.”
“Yeah, two-hundred apiece, they’ve got sunlamps and humidity monitors, if you ever use ‘em for the more exotic kinds of berries. Best of all, they can clip onto a cart or other conveyance if you ever get one. They’re handy on bikes.”
“Great! One pot, and a box of Leppa berries... and a Sitrus berry. Uh, how much is that total again?”
“Let’s see... That’d be three-hundred fifty in the end. Any of the rest of you want anything?” The merchant asks. Rarity is looking over the Gems and Stones, and Twilight’s taking a look over the other types of berries he’s offering. “Ah, take your time, ladies.” He turns to me. “So, you headed to Gee-Bee Port?”
I give him an odd look, then realize what he means. “Oh, Great Barrier, yeah. Looking for another badge.” I flash my first one, pinned to my jacket, as I hand him the money. Counting it up, I still have almost 8700.
“Ah, very nice. They’re a bustling town, thanks to all that shipping they’re getting, now that their navy has kept back any further attacks recently. Also, they say they’ve got a solution to the ‘giant Zubzilla’ problem. Frankly, I think the story’s just a big scare-attempt to make folks throw money at the scientists, but I’m no marine biologist. Anyhow, anything else you might want? I’ve also got a few items for pokemon, like a few Expert Belts, and nifty thing from Rustoil Metropolis called a Force Barrier. That one’s pretty costly though, fifteen grand for it.”
“Sorry pal, don’t have that kind of cash. You sell anything for Water types though?” I doubt Carvanha needs any more of an ‘edge’ but it does tend to lag behind if there’s no water around.
“Hmm... not really. Unless you mean for working around water types. I have a nifty pokemon-sized Surfboard, but nobody’s wanted it yet. It’s buoyant, and smaller pokemon can just stand on it like a platform in a pokemon battle.”
“Sounds useful. How much for it?”
“Eight hundred. It’s big enough you could use it if you felt like.”
“Alright, deal.” I hand him the money and watch as the girls decide. I explain the purposes of the gems to Rarity, and that if she wants to be a coordinator, it’d be best to look over the berries rather than the combat equipment. I get into explaining Pokeblocks and poffins and the like, and Rarity decides to buy one box of each of the main varieties, along with six Berry Pots. Her last bit spent, we no longer have that solid, pure gold coin with us. Frankly, at this point, I’m glad to be rid of it. Don’t wanna get mugged and threatened over it again.
Although the girls are interested in the evolution stones, I explain that none of our pokemon use them, so we end up finalizing our purchases including the umbrellas, Twilight picking up one Fire Gem, and we bid the merchant farewell.
I must say, out of all our investments, I’m most happy for the umbrellas right now. I plant my Sitrus berry in its pot and we continue on our way.