67 - video;

[islandshore]

[It's late at night when Riku turns on the feed. Judging by the starlight surrounding him he's outdoors. Lights from the surrounding cityscape shimmer from afar. The camera hovers behind him as he rests along the edge of a roof.

It hovers closer, and he finally turns around, gaze distant despite the camera's close proximity.]

You ever stop to wonder about our place in this world?

[Why, yes, it's one of those messages.]

I mean, think about it. We're dragged from our homes, dropped here and expected to play by their rules. And sure, some of us are successful. We've had businesses sprout up from nothing, helped fight off giant monsters, been invited to proms...

Still, we're outsiders, and sooner or later, we might disappear, and all the work we do here gets left behind.

[He looks up, sighing softly.]

It just got me thinking... What do the locals think about us? Do we count as citizens, even though we aren't part of the world? And how much do they really know about us in the first place?

[Heh.]

But maybe I'm over thinking it. I mean, this is a world that somehow manages to sustain itself even without an obvious education, limited career paths, and a surprising amount of pacifism in the face of crime. Community service as catchall punishment's kinda light, after all...

[Leaning back, Riku shrugs.]

I don't know. What are your guys' thoughts? I've got time to kill.

Comments

[islandshore]

Heh. I don't think I could handle anymore. Between the Training Center roster and my personal team, I've already got my hands full about a hundred times over.

Still, you had any luck with your research? I know the local libraries don't have a ton of academic text, but there's gotta be something...

[friendyousohard]

Nothing worth reporting. Not even with all the time I spent at the Pewter museum. I'm largely wondering if there's any truth to the idea that Clefairy, and perhaps other Pokemon, came to this world from another.

[islandshore]

Hmm... You know, I'd be down for investigating that. Not like I've got much else to do besides running the Training and Breeding Centers.

While we're at it, it might be worth looking into Yamasks and Phantumps. For all we know, they could know all kinds of stuff about this world's history.

[friendyousohard]

Now that's an interesting avenue of discovery... I know archaeologists back home who would have done some very morally questionable things for such a treasure trove of historical knowledge.

[islandshore]

...Define morally questionable.

[Because this is important. And slightly unsettling, to be honest.]

[friendyousohard]

Uh... probably grave robbing. Maybe more mundane theft.

[She said she "knew" the archaeologists, but it was more that she knew them by reputation, so it was hard to say how far they'd go... but they were mostly perfectly ethical people according to the interviews she'd read.]

[islandshore]

...All that for science?

[Cue a deep sigh. That's... definitely leaning toward at least a grey morality. Sure, the dead can't really care about the clothes on their corpses, but still. It's the principle of it.]

Well, at least with ghosts we wouldn't be robbing graves. I'd be more like an interview.

[friendyousohard]

To be fair, the difference between grave robbing and archaeology seems to be whether you sell the items you find or put them in a museum.

[Just ask anyone who's seen Indiana Jones.]

Yeah, I think I prefer this method a great deal more. You have to wonder why they don't have Yamask give speeches at the museum... with interpreters of course.

[islandshore]

Hmmm... Maybe they don't think of them as humans? Could be some ethics involved, too, since they used to be people, but now they aren't.

[It's... a delicate issue, and especially for children, might bring burdens if they're forced to deal with the fact that their new teammates aren't just tameable monsters.]

Could just be laziness, too, though. I mean, it's not that hard to find a Psychic type to interpret.

[friendyousohard]

You'd kind of think those sort of ethics would be relevant regardless...

[Which just says a great deal about the neglectfulness of the Pokemon world's legal system, really.]

[islandshore]

Well, I mean, Pokémon welfare is a big deal, but at the same time, there's some obvious shady spots. Like what if a wild Pokémon doesn't want to get captured? What about the families and friends they leave behind?

[It's a huge grey area, and one he's not sure they've considered. Maybe they're just too used to capture and conquer.]

[friendyousohard]

According to Starswirl, nearly every time you actually see a wild Pokemon, it's essentially a challenge to see if you're strong enough to catch and train them. He's mentioned how easy it is for Pokemon to hide in their natural habitat if they don't want to be caught. So by and large that doesn't sound like it should be too big of an issue.

[islandshore]

...Huh.

[That actually explains a lot. Is it a matter of pride? A desire to experience human partnership?]

It's weird, though. Most wild Pokémon are unevolved, but what's stopping them from battling on their own? Do they just not care enough to push their limits without guidance?