//------------------------------// // Chapter 29 // Story: Starlight: Redshift // by the-pieman //------------------------------// I take my food and head back over to the girls, sitting down and taking a bite. “So Rarity. You gonna work on making those contest treats? I’d suggest starting your berries now. They can be kind of slow, and if you use them without planting them, you’ll run out and have to buy more.” “Oh, I already began a few of the ones the éTech recommended. It’s such a useful little device.” She gently pats the bag that holds the compartmentalized, shrunken berry-growing pots. “Yeah, say what you want about us humans being driven by violence, just don’t say we lack ingenuity. Also, if I recall what those berries do when they’re eaten raw, they can do things like cure poison and such. Grow a good supply of them and we can save money on restoration items. Hope you’re a good gardener.” “Well, I suppose you haven’t seen my herb gardens. Most of Ponyville keeps some form of planter-box, and I pride myself on my growing skills.” “You can cook, you can garden, you can sew... tell me, what can’t you do, Rarity?” “I’m terrible at hoofball.” “I’ll assume that’s either football or soccer. Eh, sports aren’t really my thing either. So while we’re here... what do you think we should do when the rain stops completely? Aside from challenge the next gym of course.” Twilight finishes her fourth burger, folding the wrapper up and setting it neatly aside. “Well, I’d like to visit some of the establishments around here. According to the city-viewer, there’s quite a few research institutes and scientific labs and the like here in town, and several have regular tours through their facilities!” She clears her throat embarrassedly as she realizes she was starting to shout. “And, well, there’s also the marina, which apparently has a bunch of transhipment ports, along with what’s called the ‘strongest wall ever built’ protecting it. It’s amazing level of architecture.” “Alright. No harm in playing tourist a bit. After all, what’s the point of a cross-continent journey if you don’t stop every once in a while?” “I can't agree with you more, darling. According to the application, there’s also several places where Breeders can meet and discuss techniques. Oh, and that reminds me, I should check over everyone’s pokemon, and see if I can find any Traits they have.” “What kind of traits? You mean like, what makes them different from one another on a genetic level? Well, I can tell you about that. They’re called IVs and-” “No, Traits are more than that, though they’re related. Each Trait has a specific effect, above merely influencing their statistical abilities. Well, most do. they’re tiered, but I’ve only heard about the lowest tier so far. I hope that going to this meeting will help me figure out what to look for in the others. Identifying traits can help explain odd behaviors in one’s pokemon, and are able to be bred into later generations of pokemon. Some including things like a natural athleticism, while others are things like giving their offspring a much better chance to be varicolored. There’s apparently hundreds of traits already identified, with new ones constantly being codified and defined. It makes breeding each pokemon like working to create the perfect fabric; labor intensive and requiring great care and effort to make sure nothing gets damaged. Apparently, enough mental or physical damage can even be passed onto a pokemon’s offspring, like tears in a pattern being copied onto later iterations of the pattern by accident.” “Yeah, you can even use it for competitive battling, having a pokemon know a certain move or more at birth because the parents knew it and it’s passed along. Like how Carvanha knows Aqua Jet already. It’s because its mother or father already knew the move and... passed it on. Weird stuff happens that way, and a lot of competitive breeders can be some of the best trainers around.” Rarity nods excitedly. “Ooh, I just can’t wait for more information. I’ve already seen plenty enough signs to say your Carvanha is definitely possessing the ‘Vicious’ Trait. Makes her much stronger, but you should keep a close eye on her, as she’s liable to disobey you if you try to make her hold back or retreat.” There’s that ‘her’ thing again. Does she just intrinsically know, or is it like people calling something male by default but in reverse because mares are the ‘dominant gender’ in Equestria? “So... how can you tell something’s gender just by looking at it? Do you have like some kind of psychic power, or a third ear on top of your head that tells you things?” “What? No, darling, I just know a lady when I see one. And even if your Carvanha is only a lady by the loosest of definitions...” Hmmmm... not entirely convinced. I toss out GLaDoS and set it on the table. “Tell me the gender of this living potato.” “Male. You can see in how he stands and looks around. He’s such an adorable little sprout, aren’t you? Yes you are!” She goochie-goos GLaDoS’ ‘chin’, and the potato makes little chirring noises. “Oooookay then. So, we check out some laboratories, a museum or two, a breeder convention... what else? I like having my days planned so that I know how long I can sleep in before I have to get up.” “Ooh, there’s an aquarium here!” Twilight says, looking at the éTech in her hands. “It says that tomorrow, there’s free admissions after two o’clock!” “Alright, we can go look at some fish. Anything else? I don’t think we’ll be challenging the gym just yet. We’re not quite ready to be honest.” “Oh? Why not?” Twilight asks. “Water Type gym. Let’s start with my team. Geodude is double-weak to it, Carvanha couldn’t do jack, only GLaDoS would stand a chance, and that’s only one pokemon. Now your team... Pignite is Fire type, you can easily guess how that would go. Spheal is in the same boat as Carvanha but worse off, and Spearow... he’s your best bet, but unless you can get him to spontaneously learn a Grass or Electric move, you’re screwed. I mean, sure you can get lucky, but from a calculative standpoint, neither of us would even make it to the leader.” “Darn... I guess... we can try catching more pokemon around here? Outside the city might have some good grass types; the map says there’s a connection to the Krosa Forest just north of the city itself, near a large bay.” I nod. “Yeah, that sounds good. I may want a few more pokeballs before trying to catch some more, but that definitely sounds like a good place to start. Also, Rarity, how’s Ledyba doing? You know she evolves at, like, seventeen or eighteen. By all accounts, she should have evolved before Tepig.” “Oh... I haven’t done much actual ‘training’, to be honest. There’s just so much planning and prep work to do... I suppose I’ve become a bit focused. Perhaps it would be best to go train with all three of my pokemon sooner, rather than later. Tomorrow morning, then, before we go to the museum!” “Alright, looks like we have a plan. Although if we head off to an aquarium and a few labs on top of a breeder’s meet which I might actually check out just for the experience of it, and all that tomorrow, I’d say we should work on expanding our collections the day after so we aren’t running around everywhere like decapitated chickens.” Rarity blanches at the term, but Twilight nods. I look at Rarity. “What, you never heard that phrase? Well, it’s actually true. Chickens don’t rely on their brains as much as we do, so if you cut their heads off and stick ‘em on the ground, they just start running around going nuts. They just can’t see or anything. Same with cockroaches, they can live without their heads for up to three days straight.” Twilight seems fascinated, but Rarity is looking a bit green. For the sake of not getting her lunch all over me and my lunch, I’ll leave her be for now. Twilight absently folds up the napkin she’s used to clean her face, the remnants of her... eighth? Eighth burger? Geez, I didn’t realize she eats this much. I mean, I could probably do the same, but I’m trying to be frugal here. At 20 a burger, how much did she spend!? More than I’m willing to, that’s for sure. I figure now would be a good time to look through the Pokedex locator function and see what kinds of Grass types are available around Great Barrier. I don’t expect much, and it would take a bit of time for them to be brought up to speed with the rest of the team, but I want that badge! According to the ‘dex, there’s Voltato in the area, out in the fields. There’s also some Oddish, but at a low probability. The forest gives a better chance, with a higher population density. There’s a warning, though, that the forest is rife with higher-leveled pokemon, including a fair amount in early twenties. Well, my pokemon aren’t too far off from that, so I suppose as long as I stick with GLaDoS and expect to rely on poke damage I can manage, and an Oddish doesn’t sound too bad. A Bellsprout would be preferable, but I’ll take what I can get, and they aren’t around until much further into the northern forests. I decide that I’ll head off to a mart and get a few more balls then I’d have just enough time to join Rarity at the little Breeder meet-up. My purchases made at the little shop here in the center and I think I’m set. As expected, there’s still a few minutes, but I figure I should just head over early seeing as how I don’t have much else to do. I pause for a moment and, taking out my éTech, open up a blank text document. I might want to take notes after all. Never know what I’ll learn. Rarity leads the way, and the two of us get settled into seats in a fairly large building, the large internal room designed with a few small pens on one side. A few other Breeders are already there, chatting nicely. Rarity takes to the social interactions like a Surskit to a pond. She’s barely passing over the top, but she’s floating on her own merit. Well I guess if you want to be known you gotta take the initiative. I’m not quite here for the people though, I’m here for the education. I’ve dabbled quite a bit in IV breeding and doing it for competitive reasons, but the rules seem a bit different here than in the digital representations. More nature, fewer numbers... this is gonna be a lot harder, so I better pay attention. The head breeder, or the leader of the group, or whatever his title is, calls everyone to attention at the time the meeting’s supposed to start. Immediately, he tosses out his own pokemon, a Beartic with extremely well-groomed fur. It’s also looking much more docile than the normal Beartic. “Alright, everyone, we have a newcomer and a guest today. This is miss Belle, and her friend, Anthony.” He gestures to Rarity and I, and the rest of the breeders smile and wave, a few chirruping ‘hello’s to us. “Rarity just recently got her own license, and Anthony is a trainer. Now, the item on the schedule for the day was Intermediate Breeding Tactics. Now, I’m sure you’ve all encountered relatively common pokemon, and a few of you may have already been commissioned to help bring specific traits into a line for an established trainer and the like. However, it’s harder to do with some of the less... cooperative species, and some of the more stylistic pokemon will have specific requirements for the their trainers and breeders. For example, some are extremely picky, like a Lilligant, while others require that their prospective mate bests them in combat, such as Salamence.” I raise my hand. “And isn’t it also important to know if a pokemon can actually breed with another, falling into the same genus?” The head breeder looks at me in a way I recognize from the more condescending teachers I’ve dealt with, though I think it’s because I may have asked a dumb question. “Genus isn’t so much of a problem, as Egg Group. We haven’t yet figured out all the connections that form the particulars of an Egg Group, though it’s largely connected to their phenotype. There are, of course, some exceptions, such as the Ralts line being infertile with the Humanoid group.” He clears his throat. “Now, some pokemon mate for life, and will refuse to breed outside of that mating. How many of these pokemon can we, as a group, name off?” The breeding instructor pulls a whiteboard over from the spot where it was sitting by the wall. I raise my hand, and chance a shot in the dark. “Swanna?” The instructor nods and writes it down. It’s followed by Aggron, Salamence with a note that this isn’t strict for them, Goodra, and Mothim, though Wormadam isn’t listed. I take these notes down in my éTech for later reference. I may not end up a professional breeder, but I figure it wouldn’t hurt to dabble in it a bit. I apparently have a lot to learn. “Now, many other pokemon won’t breed without specific environmental cues. You can’t just drop them off at a daycare and expect offspring, in spite of rumors to the contrary. The Breeder-Run daycares will usually charge extra for that sort of service.” I raise my hand again. “So if you wanted to breed Heatran or Magmar or the like, you’d want a more volcanic area, or will they be fine with just a high-temperature like a desert?” “Well, I’m not sure about Heatran, actually, as they’re extremely rare outside their natural habitats. But Magmar actually only needs a place with high sulphur content. They use the cyclic eruptions of the material to cue them to know what time of year it is, and it’s been found that in the places they do live, there’s usually significantly higher sulphur content on specific times of year.” That goes in my notes too. I may be partial to Grass types, but Fire types do have a certain attractiveness to them. “So, that brings up the next part; how many people here know about how to convince a Beartic, like Harry here, to breed?” A couple of hands go up. “Alright. Any guesses from the people who don’t?” I have no clue, so I figure I’d just stay quiet, though it looks like Rarity has an idea. “Perhaps... warmer temperatures after winter?” The head breeder smiles broadly. “Excellent! Yes, right after the depths of winter, the time to breed begins for wild Beartic, and they take the time to find a mate for the year, while hunting and preparing for the next bitter winter. They may be ice-types, but they aren’t immune to the ice and cold.” Ice type that needs warmth? That goes in the notes. This is a lot more educational than I thought it would be. “Alright. How about a more difficult problem. At while time should you let your Eevee breed? Anyone who’s actually tried keeping them knows that they’re able and willing to breed virtually any time of the year, after they hit maturity at a year old.” Shit, that one stumps me. I just let them pop out eggs until I have enough for all their evolutions. Granted it takes like a day to do that but I guess that if that was realistic, that gestation period is, like, a few hours! “Alright, since there’s no answers, I’ll give you this one: When you’re able to take care of the pups. Like many species, Eevee bear live young, who are largely helpless for the first day. Like all pokemon, though, they mature quickly. It makes Eevee a viable food source, in addition to being versatile partners.” Rarity looks a bit green at the food ment- wait, Eevee are kept as food? Okay, I have no problem with eating animals that could cause overpopulation, but... eating an Eevee!? Even I’m not that monstrous! Poor adorable little pokemon... “And that leads me on to further information. However, this is rather hands-on, and it’s required our guest steps out. It’s policy, I’m sorry, but this next part is for licensed breeders only.” He nods to me. I shrug. “Oh well, them’s the rules. At least I learned some things.” I make my way out of the building and decide to join Twilight at the labs. Not much else to do.