what would you do if you just got launched into THE WORLD OF YOUR DREAMS huh

[shirimasen]

[...who isn't experiencing culture shock as much as he is the total immense joy of being able to play with his Pokémon. He's got an interesting crew out with him (a Typhlosion, a Clefable, a Wigglytuff, a Bellossom, a Smeargle, and an Abra), and he's cuddling with them, as one is prone to do when one has never had the chance or thought of Pokémon being real.

(Well. He thought so, when he was like, eight or something? But he was a kid, and it hadn't been real. But these Pokémon -- they were! And his team from his Soul Silver game had been brought to life, just like that!!)

To the undiscerning eye, it might look like he's asleep. But he definitely isn't. Totally. 100% awake here. Really!! Just go over and see for yourself, he's seriously awake. It's not like he's his Abra or something, guys, hahaha, who the heck falls asleep in random places right --]

Comments

[powerfulwarrior]

They might be! All kinds of people are here. [Hilbert really isn't bothered by the lack of eye contact, since he half-struggled with it for a while too in the very beginning, so he just assume the kid's the same way.

Oh. Have a hand too.]

I'm Hilbert. I'm pretty happy to be here too, actually, but that's because... I think I might be able to find someone I'm looking for here. Or, at least, I'm hoping I can find him.

[shirimasen]

Kiyosumi Hibiki, but you can call me Hibichi. [His eyebrows draw ever closer at the hand, but -- maybe this guy is American? They were fond of handshakes...

After a moment, he gives Hilbert's hand a gentle shake.]

It's nice to meet you, Hilbert-san. I haven't been here long [or paying attention to anything aside his Pokémon] but maybe I've seen him -- what does he look like..?

[powerfulwarrior]

[Kouken talk is so nice... That honorific makes him feel a little more responsible. He's gotta be a good senpai!!

After the handshake, he goes back to leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky. They'd be under the same one no matter how far that guy went. That was something nice to remember.]

He's really tall, with long green hair. Talks really fast too. Like, a mile a minute. That never changed even towards the end... I wonder if he's learned to slow down... [Hilbert pauses, gripping the grass with a little smile.] If you're lucky, you might've seen him with a great big white dragon. Very refined and powerful. He's a good friend of mine, see, so I need to find him.

[shirimasen]

[He kind of sounds like he's in love with the guy.

Or just really, really good friends. Hibiki settles back against his Wigglytuff with a frown, his arms crossing at the motion. Green hair, really tall, talks fast...]

Sorry. [And he's sincere!] I haven't seen anyone like that, Hilbert-san, or any dragon like that either.

[Although... A great big white dragon... What dragons were there that matched that description..? The mascot for Black did... What was its name...

Ah, whatever. Trying to come up with it while it's on the edge of his tongue isn't going to happen.]

[powerfulwarrior]

It's fine. It's pretty much a one in a million chance to meet someone who has, I think. He's never been very good with people.

[Even if Hilbert says it's fine, there's still a seed of true disappointment in his reply. He closes his eyes, sighing. Maybe the search was fruitless? It wasn't like he'd left Unova yesterday, after all, and knowing his luck...

He'd miss N again and again.

... That was no way to think, Bianca'd scold him. Friends always meet up again! That's why he'd see her and Cheren again too. Hilbert falls back onto the grass, pulling his hat more over his eyes to hide from the sun.]

So! You're from pretty faraway, huh? I've only heard your kind of speech on Kouken talk.

[shirimasen]

[His accent isn't noticeable, is it --?!

...Although on second though, the idea that he hadn't needed to switch to a different language to speak with this guy suddenly pops up and... maybe it's just an effect of this place.]

I guess so. [...Could he say it...? Johto was Pokémon's answer to the Kansai prefecture, after all...] I'm, um... I'm from... Johto.

[...He did it!]

You sound America-- um... Like you're from Isshu. [Er.] Unova?

[powerfulwarrior]

You bet. I haven't been there in a year or so, though don't ask me what it's like. My info's dated. Johto's really pretty though! I've seen more of it on TV than I have in person, so...

[Ha. Ha. Ha.]

Tell me about it? Even if my info is old, I'll tell you anything you wanna know about Unova.

[shirimasen]

[His Johto knowledge is being put to the test?! Okay, just... be cool.

So cool.]

Well [um] what do you want to know?



[socool]

[powerfulwarrior]

[Oh boy!! He gets to learn about legends and history! Something that he, ah, gained an appreciation for...]

You guys have some kind of cool legend about two birds, right? And those towers. We kinda brush over anything that isn't our own legend at home.

[shirimasen]

[Oh, those.]

Ho-oh and Lugia, right? [Hmmmm.] They're known as the guardian of the skies and guardian of the seas respectively, and they used to both roost in Ecruteak City -- apparently -- until the Brass Tower burned down. Lugia's wings are said to be strong enough to create storms, so it's not too far-fetched to say it accidentally caused one big enough to set fire to its own tower... Ho-oh left its tower, the Bell Tower, after that, and Lugia disappeared, too.

After the fire died down though, Ho-oh came back to revive three Pokémon that died in the fire, and those became Entei, Raikou, and Suicune. Personally, I think those three Pokémon were Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon, but no one really knows.


[too much speculation?]

[powerfulwarrior]

[No, that sounds cool... Hilbert is a pretty attentive listener too, alright.]

Because of the fire, lighting, and rain thing right? That makes sense. I found out I had a pretty good interest in legends and myths and stuff, so that's why I wanted to know. [Hmmm.] How about those letter Pokémon?

[shirimasen]

Unown? Well, there's a lot of people who say the world's writing system was based off of them, but since there's stuff like exclamation-point shaped ones... I kind of think that maybe, they adapted to fit the world? [Hmmm.] Still, you don't find any in regions where they use that letter-based writing systems, so I don't know.

[powerfulwarrior]

That's true. We have the Relic Castle in Unova, but there's no sign of anything like that there. Just a bunch of sand and old protectors and graverobbers awoken from their slumber.

[Which is cool in its own right.]

The Kimono Girls tend to those two birds you talked about, right? I hear they're super beautiful. Have you ever met them?

[shirimasen]

[Not personally --]

Yeah, a few times. They're really amazing. Not only are they pretty, but they're really strong. Do you have anyone like that in Issh-- Unova, Hilbert-san?

[powerfulwarrior]

Well, not in the same way you do... Our legends are pretty much bedtime stories and the royal family's gone too, so there's no real "protectors" or anything like that. The closest I can think of is a dance group I helped get together in Castelia, Unova's big port city. I wonder if they've kicked off as well as I hope.

And by the way, if it's easier to call it by the name you're familiar with, go ahead. I've got it.

[shirimasen]

[Well, there's a relief.]

Isshu had a civil war before, right? [He pauses; he knows the story, for the most part, but it's different to hear it from someone who really does live in the world.] ... Can I hear about that?

[powerfulwarrior]

Sure, no problem. As long as you don't mind a pretty length history lesson...

[He chuckles, but he's kind of nervous. Okay. Gotta get this down.]

Unova used to be a pretty wild place, with a lot of different kinds of people who thought of doing things their own way. So there was a lot of fighting between those people. Then, a pair of twin kings united the region with the help of a powerful dragon. [That's just the simple part, too. He frowns.] But the two kings had different values, and different ways they thought Unova oughta be ruled. As they argued and fought, the dragon that had helped them also split into two beings.

Reshiram, a white dragon who followed the older brother's belief in a world upholding the current order and reality. A place that he'd ensure fit his own morals.

And Zekrom, a black dragon who followed the younger brother's idealistic dream of how the world should be. What he wanted it to be.

They clashed and fought with the two dragons, but since Reshiram and Zekrom came from the same being they were evenly matched. Unova was set in a civil war with lightning and fire destroying the region... They exhausted themselves and the brothers conceded that neither were right nor wrong, and that they should live in harmony with one another. You know, that you can have your own beliefs and you should listen to others and all.

[He sits up, leaning against his legs, since it's getting near the end anyway.]

The sons of the two kings ended up picking up the fight too though, and the dragons exhausted all their power and turned into stones. Not into like statues or anything, but these stone balls. And they've laid dormant ever since, and Unova's been at peace more or less. Tough, they say that it's shaped by the dragon that won the last time they fought, so... Reshiram, I think.

[shirimasen]

[Just like in the game. Hibiki fiddles with his jacket zipper.]

You're pretty passionate about that stuff, aren't you?

[He doesn't even know anyone in real life -- er, well, in his world -- that're so obsessed with Pokémon meta and story.]

[powerfulwarrior]

Let's just says I learned to appreciate what the past can teach us while I was taking the League challenge. I don't know nearly as much as Professor Juniper though...

[Hilbert's just modest about his nerditude. And it helps he was, of course, playing a huge part in the more contemporary history.]

[shirimasen]

[It's all pretty interesting, at least. It's still kind of weird to meet someone who lived in that and grew up hearing about it instead of... well... reading it from a manual, or something.]

It's still more than most people. [Hibiki can't really say he feels the same --?! History's a little boring to him. Except for samurais. They were pretty cool.] You probably get high scores in your history classes, huh? Er, if you... went to school, you would.

[powerfulwarrior]

That'd be the only place I'd get high points, but everyone's been told that story since we were kids. So it probably wouldn't matter. [Haha.] How about you? If you went to school, or anything like that. My friends and I were pretty much homeschooled by my mom and dad.

[shirimasen]

I usually get pretty average scores. [Unless it's something one of his animes has touched on before -- but he doesn't go the way of historical fiction that often. Magical girls and shoujos though!] My teachers said if I didn't daydream so much, I'd probably be above-average or better, but I'm just not interested enough in what they're teaching to try.

[powerfulwarrior]

What's your cup of tea?

[shirimasen]

Poké-- [Wait, duh, of course it'd be -- there's not an extraordinary amount of people who aren't into it here, though they do exist.] Games and anime, I guess. Uh -- cartoons, and things like that. I like a lot of idol groups too, but I've never had the chance to go see any concerts.

[powerfulwarrior]

I'm more of an outdoor person myself, so I like traveling and hiking... But I don't mind games and stuff. In Unova, we've got a lot of amateur musicians, but idols groups just aren't something you find there like in the faraway regions.

[A kind of longing sigh. They're really cute.]