bottlecaplogs | a general April catch-all;

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a general April catch-all;

Who: Emmet and you!
What: Fun with Illusion, a question, and W, for wildcard and/or Weird Wet Wdog. If he is not Doing something at all times he will get zoomies. Please provide your local Battle Facility Head with sufficient enrichment lest the zoomies win.
When: at some point during and throughout April (+ potentially early May depending)
Where: Up and down and all around!
Warnings: will be added as necessary, though I'm not foreseeing anything in particular; currently none?

a. zoroark, what zoroark. no zoroarks detected here

i.
[ Along the curving stretches of sand down by the southernmost portions of the coast, there might be some sort of loaf or large ball of mixed dark and cream fur dozing off and taking a nap in the cozy late afternoon sun. It might look pretty familiar, actually: if anyone's seen one before (which isn't hard, given that there's one in residence over at the Oran Berry guild quarters, and especially not so for the Oran Berry members, whose nighttime accommodations mean that they've almost certainly seen a sleeping one before), then they'll recognize the curled up loafball as the ferrety, badgerlike creature that is a Typhlosion. ... Hisuian flavor.

... It might not be the best idea for a fire type to be napping this close to the water, actually, especially if it seems like the tide might be coming in soon. Maybe you should give them a nudge and tell them to relocate? ]

ii.
[ The definitely-a-Typhlosion-trust seems to be enjoying a nice stroll through town, wandering through and between various stalls and storefronts in what seems to be good spirits, at home in the bustling crowd, and perking up even further whenever something, whether it be a tasty looking spicy treat or a particularly well-crafted and useful seeming good, catches his attention.

To whoever might also be wandering around, and just so happened to stop by whatever stall they're both in front of at the same time as him: ]

It's nice to see all the different things on display, right? How often do you think they hold those drives?

[ A sharp, attentive eye might note a few things if they watch for long enough or are looking specifically for it: he doesn't carry himself like someone unsure of or still adjusting to being newly quadrupedal, but his movements might seem somewhat stiff and a little awkward at times nonetheless. Do his paws always make full contact with the ground when he moves? Do his teeth look just a little too sharp when glimpsed through his smile?

And do the flame collars give off faint amounts of heat even when they're not ignited? That's why there's something like a very faint heat haze clinging around the nape of his neck, no? It's a nice and warm day out, though; maybe fire-types just run warmer than other types? ]

b. what kind of pokemon are you, how do you do the things you do—

[ Some fine day, you will probably (maybe) be minding your own business and enjoying a respite between missions if you're one of the more involved persons among them who apparently all can't stop Working or Doing, or ... maybe you're just vibing, because you're one of the few people here who apparently knows what a work-life balance is, and how to not overextend yourself into a pile of exhaustion and sore paws from trying to Help. Seriously, what is that. Or maybe you are in fact looking for something to do, restless without something to be actively working on. Regardless.

Some fine day, you might just run into him, or he might run into you, completely coincidentally, but whichever the case is, the white fox is going to greet you with a cheerful grin all the same. ]

Oh! Hello! Verrrry good timing. I wanted to ask you something!

[ Sweep. Dramatic gesture. Point. ]

You should tell me the moves you've learned here so far. The things you've figured out and the things you're still working on, yup.

[ wait which part of that is a question— ]

c. general wildcard option + bonus

[ Remix any of the above as you please, or, if not:

Given the nature of the Oran Berry guild headquarters, if you're an Oran Berry member it's not hard to just run into him randomly in some odd tunnel or room at the Spire. He spends enough time in the training rooms that it's a fairly safe bet to try there first if you're looking for him and don't want to do it via Grumpearl, but he can also be found out and about doing odd jobs around the city as well as just outside it, closer to the outskirts of town whether on the edges of the forest or up and down the coast. He's certainly in and out of the forest often enough for the various foraging quests that are a constant part of life in the settlement, so even if someone's not specifically questing with him it's still fairly possible for them to come across each other that way.

Feel free to have your character bump into or find him wherever you like, but if you have questions or want to plot anything specific out you can drop by any of my PMs, DMs, or my plurk over at ellipsesinaction! Timing is flexible for all of these, so truly they can more or less be happening Whenever (unexpected exploration results notwithstanding). This is also a blanket "if you want to have your character challenge/be challenged by him to a battle/spar then by all means go for it".

... Oddly enough, sometimes it's difficult to find him at all. Wonder where he goes. He might show back up dripping wet and completely soaked through, though, depending; surely he's not just out taking a swim? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well. You don't have to. It isn't a matter of should? But there's a lot of things that an electric type skilled at manipulating their own lightning can do. For example, you could shape it into a ball and launch it. Or you could weave it into a net or web to slow opponents down.

[ And how. Shoutout to Galvantula. ]

Or. You could build a charge and hold it in your fur. You can do a couple of different things from there. If the charge is strong enough it also helps to protect you some from certain kinds of other attacks.

A net of lightning...? [That sounds... either fake or really complicated.]

[Oh!] I've done that! [Holding a charge, they mean.] I didn't realize it was a skill, I was just waiting longer to let the lightning go...

[It also seems to happen by itself when they're stressed enough. But they're not going to admit to that right now. ~~The poor fool isn't aware that Emmett probably already knows from the Shinx Pokedex entry~~.]

How do you weave lightning, anyway?

It is a skill, yup. It can be a couple of different skills, even! As for how you weave it? ... Very carefully, probably.

[ He's not an electric type, heck if he knows how it feels to do firsthand. His guess is that the best he might, might be able to do is maybe Shock Wave, if he's lucky enough with the Normal typing he has?

(He isn't, but look, extinct subspecies aren't something he'd easily know the learnsets for.) ]

Probably messing with the electric potentials or the gradients somehow in a more precise way for the Electric types. Some of the Bug types who can't really do much electric just spin an actual web and electrify that, though.

If I can spin a web, that's news to me.

[Maybe they should try to find a native Electric type to learn from? They don't want to come off as a burden, though...]

[The tip of their tail twitches.]

Why were you asking, anyway? ["Asking."]

You never know. [ a small snicker. ] Maybe you can use your tail to trace out the shape you want your electric to take? But anyway. Right. Why I asked.

[ 'Asked.' ]

Most of us are pretty different from each other. Which means the things that come more easily or naturally to us are also going to be different. Your lightning for example, stuff like shadows and surprises for us ghost types. Just because it isn't as natural doesn't always mean we can't learn how how to do it too though.

Figured if any of us have managed to pick up any neat tricks, we could swap maybe.

It really is like Craft types where I'm from, then... you can learn things that aren't your type if you put in enough effort?

[Good to know!]

[But they're probably not going to be much help yet. Apologetically:] I'm not sure if I can explain how to make lightning. It just. Happens.

Pretty much, yep. [ he might not know what Crafts are but the context makes the general idea of it guessable enough. ] Can't always, sometimes there just isn't compatibility. Water and Ice for example can have a lot of crossover with each other but not so much with Fire.

[ that sort of thing. ]

And do not worry. I am not expecting you to teach me. I probably can't anyway. But my first partner was an electric type, so I thought I might be able to offer some ideas at least.

[First partner...] You've been here that long...?

[Or, wait, no.] Or are you one of the Pokemon that was born here?

[Emmet asking to swap tricks was making them think otherwise, but now they're starting to doubt it. He sure seems to know a lot about Pokemon types.]

Huh? Oh. Neither. Unless three months give or take counts as that long now.

[ Three months already... actually a little strange to think about it that way. ]

I come from a station that was already familiar with Pokemon. Just wasn't actually one myself before this.

[Oh??]

Were you... human, then? [They're pretty sure Firepaw mentioned that basically everyone but him used to be...]

I didn't realize a place like that existed. [It feels like Emmet got spoilers! ~~As if they have room to talk~~]

I am Emmet. I was human, yes. And to me it is the other way around. You know. The fact that most of you are from places where Pokemon are either not real, or you've never heard of them ...

Well. It was pretty strange to realize back when we first got here.

[ they're just a fact of life, what spoilers. ]

That said. It may have Pokemon too but it is not the same kind of place as this.

Besides having humans around, you mean?

[Hmm. And here they were starting to wonder... they never did end up questioning why all the Pokemon here know about humans. Not just the ones that started out that way.]

...different enough that it couldn't just be across the ocean from here, somewhere? [It feels like it should be. How normal could Pokemon be?]

It is unlikely for a number of reasons. But I also cannot discount the possibility entirely. That this is some place that has never been found, somehow, in the world I come from. Hidden away by beings we've yet to see or hear about. Even if it is, though.

I know for a fact that two of us from a world with Pokémon come from different times. [ and he hopes it's only that. because if it isn't ... ] So if this really is the same place, at least one of us has been derailed.

But I am thinking that it is more likely that we all have been.

[Something about the idea of coming from different times... Siffrin feels their fur puff up a little bit, especially around their shoulders.]

[They. Don't want to keep asking about that. There's a weird pit in their stomach.]

[Subject change!]

...what was your first partner like?

[ It is ... definitely a subject. Emmet seems happy enough going along with the subject change, though. ]

Hmm, well. My first partner was electric type, like I said. As a Tynamo he was maybe ... this big? [ Emmet holds his paws about what he guestimates to be 8 inches or so apart. ] EleFish Pokemon. Can live in the ocean or out of it in places like caves.

He hasn't been that small in a long time. But when he was little like that he couldn't make much electricity at all. They tend to stick together in groups in the wild, though. All the individual bits of electric add up.

[Siffrin's fur smooths out as they listen, ears perked curiously.] I don't think I've seen one of those here yet.

[A fish Pokemon - so maybe Emmet was a sailor, before?]

[Lots of individual generators of electricity, working in a group...]

...do you know what my kind of Pokemon is like, in the wild? Shinx. [They think they have that name right. They went a couple days at Bottlecap Bay only referred to that way, when their memories were especially full of holes.]

I haven't seen one either. Or its evolutions. Actually, I haven't seen all that many of the Pokemon I lived with.

[ from someone else the words would sound wistful or melancholy, perhaps, but from Emmet they're about as even as the rest of his speech. what's more likely to betray him is the way his gaze flicks briefly to the side, or the way his ears twitch for just a moment. either way, it's fleeting as he moves onto Siffrin's next question. ]

As for Shinx ... They are uncommon in Unova. You rarely see them in one of the southeastern forests. I am more familiar with their evolved counterparts. But they are usually not wild anymore at that point. They usually live in groups though, I think. Luxio can share electricity and Luxray use their ability to see through things to help track down any young that have gotten lost.

[Siffrin's ears also flick. They... don't comment.]

[~~Oh, to be a Luxio sharing electricity in a pack of other Luxio~~...]

Seeing through things sounds useful. [They squint their good eye at their surroundings, as if they can make it happen by sheer force of will. But it sounds like they need to be... evolved?]

[They've definitely run into the concept by now, but they haven't bothered to think any further about it. Which they... are unsure whether they want to admit, at this point, they probably should've been paying better attention. But how does someone evolve? Their tail twitches.]

Maybe. My understanding is that it uses a lot of electricity. It is probably more than you can safely handle right now.

[ you probably need the larger voltage wells from being evolved first, Siffrin, unless you want to like, exhaust or overload yourself for two seconds' worth of x-ray vision or something. evolving isn't a necessary thing for everyone, in fact it isn't even always the best option, but it does definitely offer some clear cut advantages. ]

Maybe I'll start practicing while I'm learning how to become a spider.

[Let's be honest here. Siffrin is not exactly a font of good decisions, they might very well be willing to overload themself for two seconds of x-ray vision...]

[It sounds like they shouldn't expect to be able to pull it off, though. Fair enough! They're mostly joking, anyway.]

[ Please follow the rules and drive safely, Siffrin. Emmet will look sad and disappointed in you for disregarding safety checks and hurting yourself otherwise. ]

I am Emmet. I believe in your ability to pretend to be a Galvantula.

But maybe start small with other shapes first. And less electric. Just to start.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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