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Frontier Town Founder's Square

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"Nova," he said, looking down at the buneary. "You, uh, look like you're having a bit of trouble there."

He stretched a foreleg out and... picked the book up. Perhaps the book's passenger, too.
 
Kotone let out a tiny yelp as she was lifted off the ground and found herself dangling, her hind legs kicking the air as a reflex.

“Uuuuum thanks? Definitely feeling much lighter like this, heh…” she said with a sheepish grin, her gaze drifting to her shadow on the floor. The Buneary quickly redirected her gaze to the chimera. “Still, oooh! Nova! Like a star! That makes more sense, yup!” Her smile turned genuine and toothy. “It’s a lovely name~!”

Apparently forgetting the bizarre situation, Kotone tilted her head up and down to better check out the chimera in front of her. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what’re you exactly? I’ve seen all kinda unique ‘mons, including living bolts that could merge into huuuge golems of molten metal, but you’re the most unique of them all!”
 
"Back home it's type: full." Nova moved the book, and its passenger, to his back. "Gladion called me a silvally. So, uh, I guess it's that?"
 
Kotone’s ears twitched with interest. “Type: Full Silvally…” she murmured as she was lowered on Nova’s back. She instinctively pressed her forepaws on the dark pelt (Was it a pelt? It felt kind of fluffy! Or was it fluffy?) for balance. “That’s an odd term for a species! Like, how’s a type supposed to be ‘full’? Aren’t all types full in their own way? But then, maybe Silvally stands for ‘silver alloy’, which may be because…”

She blinked, then began giggling softly and waving a paw. “Oh, don’t mind my weird rambling! It’s just… I get very curious whenever I see a new species, ‘s all. I’ll stop now!”

But even as Kotone stopped running her mouth, she was still very intrigued by Nova’s figure, and now that she was on his back, she saw some sort of… disk connected to his beak, which was also made of some kind of metal. So, between a furred body with some feathers and chitin and that stripe of hard metal… Was Nova a cyborg?! Like those experiments found in those cautionary beware-of-science tales? He surely had some experiment-y vibes.

Regardless, Nova seemed nice, and that was what mattered!

“Anyway! You’re one of the first Wayfarers, right?” she asked, aiming the conversation in another direction. “What partner did your world send here?”
 
Goodness this one could talk fast. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to cut in on her comments.

"I'm man-made," Nova said. "Synthetic. And I didn't get a partner. My world told Betel 'no.'"
 
Kotone felt her ears falling on her back and her smile faltering. “…Oh. That’s a shame. Not the fact that you’re man-made, that’s cool! The… other thing.”

Granted, Silver had told her that having too many Wayfarers running around was detrimental to the world and could have serious (if not catastrophic) consequences, so having one less Wayfarer probably wasn’t a bad thing…?

But no matter how much pragmatism could be used to justify that circumstance, it didn’t change the fact that everyone had their own partner, and Nova was… alone. How did it feel like to be an outlier in the team?

“And, um, are you doing alright?” she asked softly, giving a few reassuring pats on Nova’s back.
 
"Why wouldn't I be?" Nova shrugged. "I've got all the partners I need here already. It's better for Forlas and my home this way."
 
Oh. That was certainly a far more positive answer than Kotone had expected. So Nova was either taking it as “it is how it is”, or maybe he didn’t even have a compatible partner that his world could supply. She didn’t quite know what to think of the implications of that second scenario, but if Nova was okay like this, then everything was okay!

“If you’re happy like this,” Kotone started, her voice regaining her usual cheer, and she pumped her fists, “In any case! I’m gonna do my best so that we can be great partners, so that we can help this world together with the others!”

The Buneary studied the various ‘mons walking through the street, both tall and short. Once more, there was already quite the crowd, which made her grateful that Nova was carrying her around. He certainly was impossible not to notice.

“You mentioned earlier you’re a man-made ‘mon,” she said, waving her legs absentmindedly, and her eyes sparkled. “I bet you can do a lot of really cool stuff! What can you do?”
 
"I adapt to different situations," Nova said, which was about as unhelpful an answer as one could possibly come up with. "If you open my bag, you'll see some disks in there. I use them to change types around."
 
Kotone’s expression morphed from curiosity to realization, and her paws flew to her mouth. “Oooh! You mean like Protean? That’s awesome!”

The Buneary tilted her head to look at Nova’s bag. Gosh, even that thing was bigger than her tiny rabbit body! How was she going to open it? Not the least deterred by that challenge, she leaned toward the bag and extended her paw, tracing the rim of the lid in an attempt to take a peek, while letting her mind bounce wild.

How did the type shift work? Since Nova had bizarre body parts, maybe his DNA let him change his body to adapt? Something cooler than a Kecleon’s Color Change?

Oh! Maybe Nova would have acquired a slick fire mane and would have been sooo warm with a Fire Disk? No, no, wait, even better! Was he going to grow giant angel wings as a Flying-type? Or… oooh! Oh gosh, yes! Maybe he would have sprouted fins and gills if he touched a Water Disk? Then, what about—?

But her imaginative bubble popped abruptly when she lost her balance and slipped off of Nova, aimed straight toward the bag.

“Eeek!” was all she could squeal as she landed inside the bag, feeling all kinds of items pressing and smushing against her.

The Buneary rubbed her paws in embarrassment, wondering what she could say about her mishap, when her crepuscular eyes let her spot a stack of shiny, round surfaces. She quickly grabbed a random disk and poked her head out of the bag, before slipping her paw carrying the disk.

“Dunno what type this is, but, um, could you show me your type change, please? I’m so curious!” she pleaded, wagging her tail (even if she knew Nova couldn’t see it).
 
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Much a like parent bird with a chick, Nova grabbed the buneary with his beak and hefted her and the Memory Drive she held out of his bag and onto his back. Nova took the disk from her.

Rock. Not the worst pull for this environment.

His drive opened and ejected the Fire Memory. Nova tilted his head to return the disk back to his bag. The vibrant reds in his head and tail fin faded to a cool turquoise, only to shift again to a dusty tan when he put the Rock Memory into the drive.

"I prefer function over form, so you're not going to see anything glamorous."
 
Kotone watched with interest, as if she were readying to witness a mesmerizing magic trick. She blinked when she saw the feathers on Nova’s head changing color, and upon a swift glance to see what else changed, even the tail had taken a similar dust-like hue.

“Oh, I find that really neat! It might not be as drastic as I had imagined, but that was still pretty cool!” she said sincerely, flashing one of her usual radiant smiles. “And also plenty useful, I bet, since you’ve had to face many different obstacles and opponents that required different answers, no?”

And then, Kotone sighed softly and her gaze drifted away. “Meanwhile, I’m not even sure what I can do with this new body. What I am capable of. Sure, I may know a lot about Buneary biology, but living and breathing and fighting as one? That’s all uncharted territory for me. It’s fascinating, sure, but also… daunting.”
 
"Well, lucky for you, your magic summoner makes it so that you get to grow stronger faster than anyone who actually lives here," Nova said, looking around the street. His cheek bolts turned once in his sockets. "As for where you're at right now? Mmm. You probably gotta learn how to use those big ears of yours for more than listening." His own triangular ears twitched.

"You can probably Pound with 'em." Nova swatted the air. "And, I dunno, maybe fluttering those big cutesy eyes at people will get them to lower their guard. Y'know, Baby-Doll Eyes."
 
Kotone blinked, suddenly remembering how that Floette in that dungeon kept staring at her ears with suspicion. It’s not like the Buneary would have done anything bad with them, but were they really that dangerous?

“Ah. My ears,” she murmured as she rolled them completely and pressed the tips to her cranium, two oiled springs ready to be unloaded. “You mean like this?”

And she let the energy go, throwing a pair of fists at the unlucky spot of air above her head. She shook her body and unconsciously flicked one foot before scratching her ear with it. “Could work, yeah, but oh my goodness! Gotta learn how to tune out the noise of the wind whistling because wow! This new hearing’s so sensitive!”

She stared at her foot as her bunny brain spoke to her. Didn’t all those rabbit species often lick their feet after grooming…? Horror flickered in her gaze as she lowered her foot. That was one of the many rabbit facts she wasn’t that eager to try out… if at all.

Wanting to bleach her mind off of that unsavory thought, she pulled herself forward and looked back at Nova, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight. “Anyway! D’you really think my eyes are cutesy?” she cooed, beaming her biggest grin, before winking. “I appreciate the compliment, but I might be a tad too young for you, tee-hee-hee~!”

And my heart is reserved for someone else, anyway!

“Oh, right! I found out I can do this, too!” Kotone held her paws together, letting some tiny stars swirl around them. “This could be good as a long-ranged move, right? I mean, they can home in on targets, and they look pretty!”
 
"Cutesy as in you caught a little kid with their hand in the cookie jar and they're trying not to get in trouble," Nova said, shaking his head. "Cuz, let's face it, you and Silver stuck your hands into a hell of a cosmic cookie jar."
 
Kotone stared at Nova in dumbfound, her Speed Star technique fizzling out and darkening like a dying lightbulb.

Oh no. Was the Type: Full Silvally heading toward that kinda talk? Why again…? The whole ‘you must be this old to be able to do this thing’ discussion? I’m not some vulnerable, weak baby that can’t fight… It had to be because of her optimistic, idealist view and always-full glass perspective, wasn’t it? It’s always because of that…

“…I’m aware,” she said at last, an uncustomary seriousness projecting from both her neutral expression and her flat tone. “This isn’t the first time I’ve helped deal with some bad actors infiltrated in the government of an entire region and other child-unfriendly situations, as unbelievable as it might sound.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “And no, you aren’t the first person to tell me I’m involved in something far bigger than myself. Gramps told me the same thing when I… started fighting against a powerful criminal organization back home.” A soft groan slipped through her muzzle and she shook her head. “I know you mean well by warning me ‘bout this whole mess, but I’m not clueless. Just because I don’t dwell too hard on the negative side of things and I don’t ooze cynicism all the time, it doesn’t mean I’m oblivious of the dangers.”
 
"Oh, I know how crazy trainers can get. Kids, adults, or otherwise." Nova turned his cheek bolts. "Not like our summoner can really control that sort of stuff. Or saying you gotta sit in time out. But you're going to get a lot of power. Quickly. The type that you might not have even seen in your pokémon partners." His crest fanned out a bit. "The type that can... mess with your head, if you're unprepared."

Flecks of golden light drifted off his crest. "At least, I'm pretty sure you're going to get those powers soon enough."
 
There it was again: that mystical golden light, just like Mhynt's show of power back at Merrimere. That divine aura that seemed eerily similar to Illumina, but not quite the same? Kotone quietly wondered if different universes had similar energies and auras with similar properties but with different names. If only there was a way to prove that...

The Buneary hummed in thought and the seriousness in her expression loosened. Intrigue was once again flooding her gaze. "That golden light! Mhynt showed a bit of that power some time after we met. She also used some, huh, Shade or something? Anyway, she didn't seem too bothered when she used them."

A light scrunch formed on her muzzle, her nose wiggling as her mental gears spun faster. There was a piece of the puzzle she was surely missing, and she was going to find it.

"Still! If getting those powers is inevitable, then I gotta be ready for them!" She leaned forward, her ears springing upright and pushing her hat on the book on her back. "So! How do those powers work and mess with someone's head? Is it like a power trip, a bunch of random hallucinations, or something else? How do they affect you?"
 
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"It's different for everyone," Nova said, shrugging. "Shadows intensify your most negative thoughts and feelings. Radiance lowers your inhibitions and puts you into overdrive."
 
Kotone scratched her head, puzzled by those descriptions. “So, let’s see… to use those weird powers you gotta either give yourself emotional damage, maybe by recalling repressed trauma, or get very, very drunk? And y’all have done that… countless of times?”

The Buneary blinked slowly, wondering if she was on the right track. But again, if all those horror novels about mortals going insane after meddling with divine and demonic powers had any inkling of truth, then using superpowers of dubious origins probably didn’t help much with her team’s mental state. The mere idea made her inwardly squirm.

“Gosh! The psychiatrists here must be millionaires by now if you’ve relied on that crazy jutsu for months!” she exclaimed as her paws went back to her mouth, aghast and concerned with the discovery. “How’re holding up after using that stuff for so long?! Is everyone really okay?”
 
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