The First Ideal

[solveforn]

[Where most people are frantically out and about, trying to find out where they were and what was going on, a strange green-haired boy was sitting on the fountain, inspecting the "relic" he was given.

As he stares, it's clearly more than the curious gaze of the common person. In his mind, he is deconstructing the object, observing how it fits together, what elements make it function. He carefully moves the wire around, seeing how securely it was placed, then dabs his finger on the exhaust pipe to gauge temperature.]

Strange.

[The observation is almost involuntarily expressed, as N isn't apparently looking for anyone to speak to him about it. He runs his fingers over the seams, wondering if it was fit into place or welded. In a very swift and train of thought mutter,]

This shouldn't work.

Comments

[lavenderglasses]

[he...kept up, yes. but sir, you just used a whole bunch of words that he has never heard before.]

...What?

[solveforn]

[There's another brief glance, as N gauges the blond stranger again. He looks vaguely disappointed, but not surprised.]

Steam engines shouldn't function under these circumstances. It's not in the design of the machine.

[lavenderglasses]

[he frowns slightly, displeased with the look he's being given, and tries again.]

Alright. And what exactly is a steam engine?

[solveforn]

[Unfortunately, you will be getting it again, on top of a slightly questioning look.]

You aren't from this region? But surely you've studied it before. My textbooks were taken from the standard curriculum, I was told.

[Although Ghetsis could have very easily lied about that, as well. Hmm.]

Do you know where the local Pokemon Center is?

[lavenderglasses]

I'm not even sure what this region is. All anyone could tell me was the city name. And I don't know what a "pokemon" is either, so you can stop using that word.

[it's frustrating, not knowing any of this. he's always believed rather strongly in all that "power is knowledge" after all. but he's gonna have to just suck it up and figure it out, because it doesn't exactly look like there's any alternative at the moment.[

[solveforn]

[That genuinely surprises him. N looks at Saralegui with a very perplexed look.]

You don't know what a Pokemon is?

[lavenderglasses]

No. Should I? It's not like anyone's really told me anything about this place...

[solveforn]

I haven't been told anything about it, either.

Still...

[lavenderglasses]

Still what? [he sighs, and takes a seat on the fountain ledge a comfortable few feet from n.] Am I now expected to know about strange places before having ever even heard of them before?

[solveforn]

Humans completely isolated from Pokemon. Does that mean, then, that somewhere there is a place where Pokemon are without humans? I suppose it only makes sense that I was not with the Pokemon, even though...

Hah. It only makes sense. I wish my friends were with me.

[lavenderglasses]

Perhaps it would be best if you just explained what "pokemon" are first? We might just call it something different where I come from.

[solveforn]

Creatures of great power and potential. Humans have been using them for a long, long time, and humans travel the world with Pokemon under their ownership.

Or... they befriend them. And they share a wonderful bond.

[N's words slow at the last thought, as he thinks of the trainer that defeated him]

[lavenderglasses]

...Animals?

[that would be a pretty dramatic way to talk about animals though. he rides a horse and all, but he's never really been big on pets or anything.]

[solveforn]

They're not just animals. They are so much more. They think, and feel, and dream. Maybe even more than humans. They are so often just used...

[lavenderglasses]

So not animals then. Sorry, but I can't imagine anything we have back home that you might be describing. [dragons, maybe, but he hadn't heard anything about their levels of sentience, or anyone daring to use them. and he's never seen one in real life anyway, so the point is rather moot anyway.]

[solveforn]

What place do you live in that has no Pokemon?

[lavenderglasses]

Small Shimaron, in the human territories. [that was saying enough without giving anything anyway. if this guy didn't recognize him already, his country wouldn't likely be much of a clue.] And yourself?

[solveforn]

I come from Unova.

[And the same can be said of you, since you don't know his face either.]

You may call me N. I've been traveling the world with my friends... though they aren't with me any longer.

[There are a lot of subtle emotions about that, though N doesn't quite convey in exactly the right human way, his body language more obvious than his facial expressions. He tugs his hat down as a fidget, sounding torn and upset.]

[lavenderglasses]

[strange name. it sounds fake. but he doesn't comment on it, instead all smiles.]

I've never heard of Unova. Is that a human land, or demon? [as far as he knows, it's neither -- he's good at geography, and he knows his world's nations. unless that's somewhere in seisakoku, which he admittedly doesn't know as well as the rest of the world. but hey, give him some credit, he's only been researching it for a few weeks now, compared to the 17 years he spent on the rest of the world, and there isn't much material to study outside of seisakoku itself.]

[solveforn]

Demon?

[It's less of a question and more of a musing. N seems to think to himself again for a moment, a strange smile crossing his face.]

It's a land where humans and Pokemon live side by side. Nothing about it makes the humans there... demonic.

[lavenderglasses]

Your "pokemon" things don't exist in any land I know of, from what I can tell. And humans are not made demonic, it's a separate race entirely.

[solveforn]

They are not 'things'.

[Touchy! But N is paying attention, at least, to what you're saying.

Distorted time and space, a gate to another dimension, there are innumerable possibilities with varying odds that could explain this, if it truly is what it appears to be.

[lavenderglasses]

Fine, animals, or whatever they are.

[he's not really following the whole pokemon obsession, given what little he's been told. but he smiles anyway, all amiable charm and his tone could easily just be mistaken for the polite handling of things one just doesn't understand.]

Regardless, you're talking about unfamiliar things again. Forgive my ignorance, I'm sure it's getting frustrating, but could you try to slow down a little?

[solveforn]

Does your world have any legends of other worlds? Of anything that has control of those phenomenal forces of existence?

[lavenderglasses]

What, like gods? I'm not exactly religious, but I can't imagine a world that doesn't have it's believers. I suppose it all gets a bit muddy, however, knowing that the "god" of the Demon kingdom really did exist in our world thousands of years ago, and still interferes in the world from time to time today.

[he frowns slightly, tucking back an errant strand of hair while he considered the matter.]

As for other worlds...I can't think of any particular myths that stand out, but if others did exist, then there's at least one person who's given me reason to suspect that one can travel between them. But he wouldn't be involved in this.