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Frontier Town Main Street

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"Yeah..." Nova sighed. "I only knew the guy second hand from the memories Gene shared." Thoughts of Mhynt's connection with the zweilous flashed in his head. "Mewtwo can't be the one I know, though. And hopefully it's not a similar situation like what Mhynt's dealing with where he's from one of our worlds." It was hard to even peg a motive for the guy. "Not sure what's up with Mew, either. For some reason, I just feel like I can trust him. Can't really tell you why other than instincts.

"Mhynt felt similarly, I think?" He tilted his head, cheek bolts turning slowly in thought. "I wonder if it's... something only those of us who've always been pokémon can sense..."
 
Like what Mhynt was dealing with... did they know for sure that the Zweilous they'd met was the same one she knew? Sure, it seemed pretty convincing that he was some version of the same person, but... Gladion's words kept coming back to her, kept forcing her to reckon with the idea that the Starr on Forlas might not be the one she knew...

"Maybe... if there's multiple versions of him across worlds, he might be a different one than any of us know..." Was that better, or worse? Jade had no idea. This was all still so new and bizarre.

"Mew seemed to be okay with him, though," Jade said, humming. Maybe Mew was just... being tricked or manipulated somehow? She wouldn't have thought that Mew was deceiving them... "I wanted to believe in Mew because... well, because it's hard to imagine not believing in Mew. But that might've just been bias from knowing what the Mew from my world's like." Nova and Mhynt had always struck her as so practical and serious--not the sort to go off of vibes unless there was more to it than that.
 
"Mew was human before, I think," Nova said. "Maybe he was a trainer? The kind that could really connect with pokémon. On, like, a spiritual level."

Yes, it sounded stupid, but a part of Nova thought it made sense. "Not to say any of you guys aren't good trainers." He laughed nervously. "I'm sure you are. Or you wouldn't be here."
 
Jade chuckled sheepishly. "I'm decent, but not like legendary-tier." Well, okay, maybe not the most accurate word to use there, given the whole chosen thing.

"So, y'know, if Mew was a trainer, I could believe that he was one of the greats." She leaned her head against one paw, thinking. "Back home, they always used to say that before Pokéspeech was deciphered, the greatest trainers and Pokemon could understand each other without words." Maybe there was some truth to those old stories after all.
 
"Huh, that so?" Nova thought that sounded pretty reasonable. As far as urban legends were concerned, anyway. "I guess that'd line up with Mewtwo saying that Mew had stopped him before. And that he wanted to try things Mew's way. Or something."
 
Jade clicked her tongue. "Huh, I'd forgot about that. But I guess if Mew was strong enough for that, that'd explain why he'd respect him. The Giovanni back home was all about strength, so it'd be in-character." But then, that just made it all the harder for her to understand was he was doing here, running a bulletin board, what, out of the goodness of his heart??
 
"One of those weird honor code type things, maybe?" Nova thought aloud. "My Earth's organized crime is pretty much nonexistent after Team Rocket incurred the wrath of a berserker light dragon, but the pokémon-only planet I'm mostly on has yakuza clans that subscribe to varying degrees of honorifics."
 
"Something like that," Jade said distantly. At the very least, the Giovanni she knew certainly acted like he believed everything he was doing was honorable. "I guess I don't know what we... do with this info. He hasn't exactly... done anything wrong yet." Yet.

Honestly, the bit about the light dragon wiping out his world's Team Rocket was hardly the weirdest thing Nova had told her.
 
"It's not just that." Nova sat down, a pensive look crossing his face. "Do we think he already knows? Can we even hide this from him?" Mewtwo was a powerful psychic, after all. Nova doubted that mask actually offered him any real protection against mind-reading. And it was gone now, anyway.

"I've spent a lot of time training with him. Unless he, like, doesn't know how to fully use his psychic powers, he could've sifted through my thoughts and I'd be none the wiser." His fur bristled a bit. "Not to mention back home Gene uses Miracle Eye on dark-types all the time. Giovanni could have that.

"Maybe the play is actually to just be upfront about it?" Nova had the impression Mewtwo was a no nonsense straight shooter, after all. "I wouldn't put it past him for this to be another test or something."
 
Jade blanched. Psychic powers... she hadn't thought about that. Maybe he was inexperienced with them, but with that kind of raw power, there was no doubt he'd figure it out eventually.

Jade grit her teeth. "Crap... you're probably right. Even without the psychic powers, he'd probably figure out something was up if we started acting differently around him. Letting him know up front... might be the best play." No matter how intimidating the prospect was.
 
"It's food for thought, but I don't think I'd come right out and say it without other folks' okaying it," Nova said. He glanced toward the Archives. "Typing is actually why I'm heading for the library. Met Lyle around the old parts of town the other evening and it made me remember... that I think I'm supposed to be able to change my typing around."

He stretched out a hind leg. "But I don't think my body works the same way, so I'm not entirely sure how to make it happen. Since I, uh, exist as a concept here, someone's gotta know something."
 
"Right, yeah. Maybe Leaf or Gladion would have some input, since they were there with us," Jade mused, tapping a claw on the edge of the wooden railing.

So Nova was looking into type-changing. She'd vaguely heard of some Pokemon who could do that, even aside from ones that could transform like Mew. "Changing your type... is that some kind of, like... skill?" It was probably a dumb question since he'd just said he wasn't sure how to make it happen in that new body.
 
Nova nodded. "Back home, my creator wanted me to be, uh, adaptable?" He wiggled his claws. "So, y'know, use the best parts of different body styles. Claws for climbing and attacking. Big tail for swimming." Nova wiggled his hips and his tail followed suit. "Bat-like ears, too.

"Type changing was part of that. I had this disk that went into my cheek. Let me change types on the fly." He tucked his head down in thought. "I vaguely recall the Matriarch talking about why she knew how to do this. Something about data from Canalave Library..."
 
So that explained why he'd been engineered to look like that. Made sense for an all-rounder hybrid to be designed to win any type matchup, she supposed. Jade wasn't entirely sure how he'd manage to find a disc for that unless he managed to literally track down the place where a Graydian had probably(?) been made on Forlas(???) But with how different things worked here, maybe some kind of weird dungeon energy would fit the bill. At this point, nothing would surprise her.

"Well, good luck," Jade said, smiling lightly. "Gotta admit, that'd be pretty cool to see. For both you and Gladion."

Canalave... the name was vaguely familiar. Wasn't that the place Ajia had been wanting the group to check out back home? She couldn't remember what they'd been planning to research, though...
 
"Yeah. Way more useful for him," Nova said. "I can't actually attack. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to. But if I can help out Gladion with this, that'd make me just as happy." His tail wagged a bit.
 
From his tone and his body language... Jade could've sworn Nova looked practically optimistic about this. More than anything else, that hammered home how much things had improved by getting that dang helmet off.

Jade waved the chimera goodbye and let him get to his reading in the archives while she wandered down Main Street. Maybe she'd have a talk with Gladion next.

And maybe they'd all be having a talk with Mewtwo soon...

<><><>​
 
Ch04: Grace & Ghaspius - Kneading Friendships
  • Threadmarks
    • While it certainly wasn't unusual for a traveling caravan to pass through Frontier Town, the lovely scent of freshly baked goods wafting through the air was enough to grab the attention of at least a few locals. Amongst them was of course a certain poncho-clad alchemist that quite literally drifted towards the cart as he gems hummed with a gentle glow.

    Although the window as closed at the moment, the clean, yet sweet and yeasty aroma had already entranced the Misdreavus. His eyes glazed over the sign: "Jumpluff's Puffs & Pastries". While fresh bread was their most advertised product, a variety of confectioneries such as muffins, sweet rolls, and even pies were on offering.

    Ghaspius just had to wait until it was open. In the interim, he amused himself by seeing how long he could spin in place without getting dizzy.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Fresh and ready to just... enjoy herself today, Grace was getting her wings used to keeping her airborne for longer than a few seconds. It made getting around faster, and it certainly made her more noticeable, too...

    So when the same scent attracted a second early customer, Grace drifted closer to the cart, sniffing the air and humming with excitement.

    "Ooh... this smells yummy...!" she gasped, looking around. She hadn't quite noticed that the rotating misdreavus was another customer.
     
    Seven spins was his apparent record, and with his final twirl, he bumped way straight into the cart, face-first. The Misdreavus crumbled into a flat cloth on the ground as he let out a moan. Still, just as quickly as he fell did he rise back up again as he shook his head. He just smiled as he always did.

    "Well howdy there stranger," Ghaspius greeted with the wave of his tassel. "Looks like I ain't the only one around town that knows good taste."

    He swayed — half from dizziness and half idly — before adding, "Say, weren't ya around the Haus before it all went down?"
     
    "Oh! Um... I was! But I wasn't... well, I wasn't around when it happened..." said Grace slowly, watching him pick himself up. She was getting mauled by another person inflicted by Shadows.

    "Are... Are you okay?" she then asked, sounding concerned.

    The togetic quickly adjusted the pink bow on her head. "Uhm-- I'm Grace! I almost forgot to introduce myself!"
     
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