islandshore | 52 - video/action for travelmates;

[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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hey, maybe it's both. I know a lot of legends speak metaphorically, so it's possible that this one's chock full of symbolism and not much else.

[Who can really say for sure? The world's proven its craziness time and time again, and with natives who never question it, finding surefire details is easier said than done.]

I'd say it's worth turning to the history books, but I'm starting to doubt those even exist. If they do, they're definitely not up for grabs at any shop or library I've seen.

[Stuff on legends? Sure. Factual records of past struggles and srife? Nnnot so much. What a pain.]

True enough... in a world like this, it's really difficult to tell what it is. Still, if there's some force actually enforcing the prohibition on weapons, it would explain why even ones people try to make here seem to lose their effectiveness more quickly than they should.

Who knows? Perhaps they'll come into stock someday, though with our luck it will be the history of some region we'll never be able to visit rather than the two we have access to. That seems like just the sort of thing this place would pull...

Seeing how this book contains legends from the Sinnoh region? I'd say you're right on the mark. Sucks that we can't even go that far; I'd kill for a change of scenery.

But I'll still give this place some credit: it's a whole lot bigger than my world. It's just a pain that there's more sitting just out of our reach.

I certainly agree with you. I wouldn't even care if we just had temporary access to one of the other regions as part of some sort of event, I just want to see something of them...

[...wait

what...]

...are you talking about this entire world, or the two regions we have access to?

[IT... SOUNDS LIKE THE LATTER, BUT THAT WOULD BE REALLY FUCKIN WEIRD]

Hey, even Johto's a lot bigger than my home.

[He chuckles dryly, running a hand through his hair.]

It's just two islands in the middle of an ocean, and neither one of them's that big or exciting. You spend fifteen years in the same old place, and three years here feels like a walk in the park.

...How can something like that even have a sustainable population? That doesn't seem like an arrangement that would promote decent genetic diversity.

[Kayneth, you're asking for logic from a kid who's half-Disney.

In all seriousness, though, it's a good question. One that prompts Riku to take a few seconds to mull it over. He brings a hand to his chin and narrows his eyes. Genetic diversity, huh?

In the end, he just shrugs.]

Heck if I know. Most people don't really question it. They're happy to live their day to day lives stuck in their small world, and as far as I know, we don't have any serious population problems.

[...honestly if he knew about the Disney thing he'd probably just have some sort of nope meltdown...]

How... bizarre. Well, if there aren't any real problems, I suppose there must be something that accounts for it.

[because really, Riku doesn't look like a Habsburg.]

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