52 - video/action for travelmates;

[islandshore]

[Here we have Riku. Or more specifically, we have Riku and a book. When he looks at the camera, it's with a soft chuckle. Then he starts reading off the page.]

A young man, callow and foolish in innocence came to own a sword. With it, he smote Pokémon, which gave sustenance, with carefree abandon. Those not taken as food, he discarded with no afterthought. The following year, no Pokémon appeared. Larders grew bare.

Just let that sink in for a second. A sword. Killing and eating Pokémon. Still with me?

[Then he'll continue.]

The young man, seeking the missing Pokémon, journeyed afar. Long did he search, and far and wide, too, until one did he find.

Asked he, "Why do you hide?" To which the Pokémon replied...

"If you bear your sword to bring harm upon us, with claws and fangs, we will exact a toll. From your kind, we will take our toll, for it must be done. Done it must be, and for it, I apologize."

To the skies, the young man shouted his dismay. "In having found the sword I have lost so much. Gorged with power, I grew blind to Pokémon being alive. I will never fall savage again. This sword I denounce and forsake. I plead for forgiveness, for I was but a fool."

So saying, the young man hurled the sword to the ground, snapping it. Seeing this, the Pokémon disappeared to a place beyond seeing.

[Riku snaps the book shut, placing it down. Afterwards, he shifts into a more comfortable position, arms folded over his chest.]

So, ignoring the obvious anti weapons message here, this story's pretty interesting. It's an old legend from the Sinnoh region, and if it holds any truth, it means that the people in this world used to use real weapons and actually hunted Pokémon. Plus, when you look at stuff like Skarmory's Pokédex entry, you see bits about forging swords from their feathers. You gotta wonder why they stopped and why they're so paranoid about people defending themselves.

You think it's because people abused that power?

[Either way, he's glad he swung by the library. Sometimes they actually do have interesting reads.]

Comments

video;

[usedacrobatics]

[He's trying to wrap a Skarmory's egg a little more warmly and turn on the Pokegear at the same time, bear with him... okay.]

Less about the power itself being abused. More about the repercussions thereof.

video;

[islandshore]

True. The idea of mass slaughtering just for fun is kind of pushing it. Guess you could argue that it's like sport hunting, but here it sounds like the guy didn't get any rewards beyond some sick satisfaction.

[But that's assuming the story holds any ground. Who knows for sure?]

[heartdive]

[ and Sora has a nice big picture book. because he can. fairy tails are awesome, okay? don't judge. ]

Did you really just ask that?

[islandshore]

Hey, I think it's a solid question. Ignoring the one legend, you have to wonder why weapons are such a huge taboo here.

[It's frustrating. He'd rather like to carry something a bit sharper, okay?]

VIDEO

[usedswift]

You think some idiot who didn't know how to use a sword properly ruined it for everybody?

[Way to completely ignore the point, Tenten.]

If people really were abusing it, doesn't it make more sense for other people to rise back up, instead of Pokémon?

VIDEO

[islandshore]

Maybe it hurt some legendary Pokémon's feelings.

[It's said in jest, complete wth a chuckle.]

But who knows? Legends are tricky. Hard to say what's real and what's not in a place like this.

[Video]

[itsjustdust]

I think I get it... There are really powerful pokemon right? Think that they created a place where people couldn't use weapons against them?

Like, that legend is from a place before the 'place beyond seeing' which is where we are now?

[Video]

[islandshore]

I guess that's possible, but I took it more as the Pokémon just... vanishing mysteriously. Like its job was done.

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

People should never kill anything that they can't eat or use, but getting rid of anything that can kill is just stupid. You still need to eat something, and people can't eat without killing other living things. You need to be able to defend yourself, too.

What I'm wondering though is why humans can't eat Pokémon, but other Pokémon can. The story says that humans could before, but if you try now it's like biting a rock. How did something like that change, and how can it only be that way for humans?

[Video]

[islandshore]

Maybe that legend holds the key to understanding it. Or maybe it's just a silly story.

But, for all we know, the world could've changed due to some higher power. There's a lot we still don't understand about legendary Pokémon. Some of the stories I've seen treat them as gods instead of your standard animals.

audio;

[memoryborn]

There's always that risk, isn't it? People think they can properly control a power, but end up used by that power.

[ At least that's what she knew of Riku's backstory. The story runs an eerily similar parallel. ]

audio;

[islandshore]

True. I see this as a cautionary tale, but that doesn't mean power's bad. Just something you have to use wisely.

(Video)

[bestofthebest]

(Ooh, it's been quite a while since Dash talked with Riku!

...And, she totally didn't expect this. Give her a moment to decipher what you've said; Twilight's not with her to translate. Besides that, she'd never eat or try to hunt down Pokemon unless she wanted one on her team and even then she'd never use weapons to catch 'em!

She's befriended buffalo who were willing to flatten an entire town for pony's sake!)

So...you're saying back in those days, the Pokemon thought of it as 'eye for an eye, leg for a leg' sorta thing?

(Video)

[islandshore]

That's what I got out of it, anyway. And when you think of it that way, I can see why the guy trashed the sword.

[Because Pokémon are dangerous. They probably could snap humans in two of they wanted.]

[video]

[enjoymyatelier]

[...oh snap what an interesting myth]

That's... I haven't come across that myth before. What city's library did you find it in?

[give him some more sinnoh mythology]

[video]

[islandshore]

Violet. It's a new import, but they might have it at the other libraries.

[Heh, but since he's interested.]

They might let you place a hold. I'll probably be sending it back once I jot everything down.

[video]

[lieutenantantichrist]

[Blake finds the important part.]

People can eat these things?

[He eyes the Kingler at his side, who makes an alarmed noise and crosses his claws in front of himself.]

I'm just asking.

[video]

[islandshore]

If they could, they can't anymore.

[He shakes his head and shrugs.]

If you even try, it's like biting into cement.

audio

[chosen_light_child]

... Maybe it had something to do with people ending up training pokémon instead?

[ She pauses for a moment. ]

I mean, like, maybe one of the legendary pokémon wouldn't allow trainers to exist while people were still using weapons to fight them?

Or I guess people might have just realized that controlling lizards that can breath fire was a better idea than trying to fight them themselves?

audio

[islandshore]

Well, that's assuming trainers existed back then. It's possible that trainers resulted because of something like this, but I wouldn't put it past a legendary to step in.

It's definitely better to have them on your side than to intentionally antagonize them. Won't argue that.

[ video ]

[colorsofthewind]

Considering what we know about weapon laws now, I wouldn't doubt that there's truth to the legend.

[ video ]

[islandshore]

Yeah, if nothing else, there could've been an incident that inspired the story. Still doesn't make those laws any less stupid, though.

[video]

[sitdownbecider]

...What kind a' monster goes around killin' pokemon for no reason? No wonder wild pokemon don't trust folks.

[video]

[islandshore]

Probably someone with serious psychological issues. That's how it usually goes.

[Video]

[babel_hacker]

[Huh, this is interesting. Atsuro's attention is obviously caught by this legend.]

That's a likely possibility. Most legends usually have a grain of truth to them, either because it's real or inspired by a past event. People usually tell legends to explain away things, unless it's a record.

[Video]

[islandshore]

Yeah, though some legends to stretch things at least a little bit. In a place like this, it's even harder to tell what's true when you consider how wacky the world is on its own.

[video]

[easy_as_cake]

Don't people usually abuse their power? I mean, it's even a saying and everything. "Power corrupts."

Isn't that why stories always like to talk about heroes who don't use their power unless they absolutely have to? The Pokemon in that story warns the boy but he never actually fights back, even though it's pretty obvious that a lot of the Pokemon here could definitely hurt people if they really wanted to. Maybe the Pokemon had better judgment than the boy.

[video]

[islandshore]

True. Heck, the Pokémon even sounds apologetic about the possibility of killing the guy.

Wouldn't be the first time a myth's carried a cautionary message, either. Guess that's one thing that never changes no matter what world you visit.

[video]

[riastrad_ridire]

Man, I don't get it. I mean sure, you could make some argument about Pokemon being properly sentient or understanding or whatever and whether or not it'd be wrong to kill them, but hunting's just what you do to survive.

I'll grant that going further than that is stupid and probably cruel, and I'll also admit you can get by without actively hunting in a place this modern. But now I'm wondering how people in this place's past got by after they quit hunting them.

[video]

[islandshore]

That's the real question. You see meat in stores and restaurants, but nobody ever explains where it comes from. People fish around Pallet town, but if you try fishing, all you'll ever get are Pokémon.

[It's like there's something greater going on. Intervention? Locals trying to hide their secret livestock? Hah...]

But you're right. Intelligent or not, I don't think hunting them is wrong, as long as you're not going on a slaughtering spree. It's not like they don't hunt each other, anyway.