Frontier Town The Wanderin' Zera

[RJr3:2]

Aige stared up at the rows of bottles, jerking backwards slightly to tilt her hat up. She had never been one to drink in the past; now she was more curious about if she could somehow drink. Last time she had been a Roggenrola, she was too young to think too hard about it.

After having wandered out of the desert, she had been on something of a sightseeing tour of the town, aimlessly wandering from place to place. Her journey was taking longer than expected, punctuated by multiple pokemon trying to pick up the 'abandoned' hat blowing down the street only to discover her underneath.

More than filled up on her fair share of awkward apologies, she had ended up at the bar., where she was idling. Hearing the call, she turned to see who had addressed her, spotting the Electrike.

"Me?" The Roggenrola seemed to think for a moment. "Yes, I suppose you can say that. You recognized me from when we were all together, huh..."

Aige went silent again in thought before suddenly perking up. "Oh sorry, I was just thinking again. I forget that it's really impossible to tell what I'm doing when my face is- not there."

"My name is Aige," she said, nodding slightly. "If you remember the moments before we were sent here, do you by chance know many of us exactly there were?"

 

[Tetra]

"My name is Aige," she said, nodding slightly. "If you remember the moments before we were sent here, do you by chance know many of us exactly there were?"

"Koamaru," he replied. With a bit of effort, he hopped onto a chair at the table. Koa cocked his head as he thought back to that strange space where the cloud spoke to them. There'd been so many. He'd found out most everyone, or at least a lot of them, had been staying in town, but he wasn't quite sure how many. "Twenty?" he said finally. "I'm not sure. I remember seeing a lot. I don't even know everyone honestly." He still felt utterly out of place. He missed Kitto. Kitto probably would have gotten a headcount and names from everyone.

"Where did you end up? Did you hear anything or figure out what we're suppsed to do here yet?"

 

[RJr3:2]

"I ended up with a few others a little ways out from town," Aige said, sliding her hat off for a moment. "We ran into a camp of... bandits. They were certainly nice enough- and not coordinated enough to be too much of a threat, at least in my opinion."

The Roggenrola was silent. "Their leader was absent though. Mind you, if they know what they're doing, they can more than make up for it if they can direct their cohorts."

"As for what we're supposed to do, I know nothing. That's partly why I asked you if you remembered how many pokemon were there." There was a hint of a flash of some kind of light in the hole on Aige's front. "If we can't get an accurate headcount, then we have to look out for anyone who might claim to be with us, no? It's not as if we were given a code word or some means of identification. And since we were sent here to help, then there's a good chance that there's some sort of opponent."

She paused. "Um, in short, it's good to exercise caution in who you're talking to."

 

[Tetra]

"A bandit camp?" Koa shuddered at the thought, suddenly both grateful and angry. It seemed every world had no good thieves. What kind of world had they fallen into? Were they brought here to stop pokemon like that? But Aige seemed to believe that the bandits weren't much of a threat. Wait, what had she meant by 'nice enough'? Was Aige one of those people who didn't care what bandits and thieves did?

He bit his tongue as she continued. It was hard to read her expressions without a usual face. She could have meant something different.

"I know how to exercise caution," he replied, a bit snippier than he meant to. Maybe you should exercise caution picking out hats. He kept his mouth shut. He was all too reminded of Blake, always chiding him, as if he wasn't already trying to be careful. Besides he shouldn't be rude to pokemon who would be on his team.

 

[RJr3:2]

"That's good," Aige said approvingly. There was no way to tell if she had ignored Koa's curtness. "I just think it's important to be vigilant about things- so ignore me if I repeat myself."

"Anyway, there's a lot taken for granted in our situation," the Roggenrola continued thoughtfully, "But one thing at a time I suppose!"

Aige tapped a foot on the floor, tilting from side to side. "So, Koamaru, what do you hope the end result of our help will be? My thought is that if we don't have a concrete goal yet, we can set ourselves in a good direction." The Roggenrola leaned forwards. "Just a general thought is all. My personal opinion is that we'll end up with a net positive socially and economically. That's what good help is to me in this instance."

 

[Tetra]

Koa resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief. Either his retort hadn't bothered her or she hadn't even realized it. With her stony face it was hard to tell which. How did Roggenrola even speak...

"We're here to save the world from some kind of disaster," he said after a moments thought. "Which usually means there's evil people hurting the world. We've had near disasters before in my world and stopping it usually helps pokemon and means fighting people who are evil. And especially people trying to use the power of legendary pokemon." A touch of bitterness seeped into his tone.

"As long as good pokemon here can live safely, that's good by me."

He paused to consider. "But the fact that nobody here seems to need help is weird. Either we're in the wrong town or..." The Voice made a mistake and none of them were meant to be here, including him. "-someone is keeping secrets. Or both." He scanned the bar curiously, still feeling out of place.

"A Galvantula I met said another stranger like us showed up awhile back, then left a long time ago on some errand. That might be related, you think?"

 

[RJr3:2]

Aige listened intently, noting Koa's slight change in demeanor.

"That makes sense, and I agree with your assessment," the Roggenrola replied, "Although, I don't know what you mean by 'legendary' pokemon. Is that meant in terms of status like a celebrity?"

"As for your second point, I think that is important to consider. As a stranger 'like us' showed up some time ago, the first thought is that they either failed, or whatever sent us here got impatient. I recall that the voice said that they were unable to finish things themselves. So assuming the second, we have no way to tell how many times this might have happened before now. Which brings the original mission into question."

Aige took a moment to let Koa process. "We have no timeframe, no direction, and crucially, no contacts. If this spirit waited this long to send another group, the urgency of the problem is diminished. So I think that as we go along learning, we should also look into an exit plan."

The Roggenrola made a noise like a sigh. "The... voice- said that the most convenient way to get out of this is to die. I don't think we have any basis on which to trust those words because it does not preclude the possibility that it's a trap to weed out anyone who would find themselves less inclined. Which is a peculiarly cruel way to go about it, but..." Aige trailed off.

"I suppose I'm making a lot of assumptions. Do you think the voice really did just have good intentions and poor implementation?"

 

[Tetra]

Koa's eyes widened. Did Aige not have any legends at all? This place still seemed to have some kind of legends that he vaguely recognized. He did his best to let her finish speaking, but he couldn't help but ruminate on what she'd said.

"Wait, do you not have any legendary pokemon where you're from? Like... Ho-Oh. Mew. ...Giratina or Arceus? Or Articuno or something? You know, powerful pokemon that guard the world?" There was an almost amusing degree of surprise and alarm in his voice.

He shook his head. Focus. "Anyway I..." Could the voice really have been tricking them? Or deceiving them? That would mean... "I don't think the Voice-thing was trying to trick us or anything. It seems like a lot of trouble for a trick, maybe they just needed the help. It seemed nice to me. Whatever the danger is, it must just be hidden. Or pretending to be good." That was how Rocket and Galactic did it at first, putting on a mask of goodness.

 

[RJr3:2]

"Hm, I don't think I've heard any of that," Aige said apologetically. "As far as I know, the world... my world at least, takes care of itself. Although, thinking about it, I feel like I've heard the name Ho-oh in the past."

The Roggenrola rocked back and forth slowly. "That's right, I'm pretty sure that was the name of a mercenary from a few hundred years ago. Uh, it's probably a different pokemon with the same name. If you could explain what the term entails, that would be appreciated."

"As for the voice, there's little point in speculating now. Whether they're tricking us or not, we should keep the possibility of either one being true in the back of our mind and just act towards creating a positive end result. If it lines up with whatever we were sent here to do, then it's a happy ending for us regardless."

Aige nodded. "Everyone can pretend to be good, so it's best to just take it slow. It's why I have this hat." She put it back on as if to illustrate her point. "Kind of silly looking, no? Some pokemon might be inclined to not take me very seriously if I look like a fool. And if they want to think that, then they can."

 

[Tetra]

No... legendaries at all? And what on earth did Aige mean by a mercenary with that name? Who would even call themselves that?

Aige nodded. "Everyone can pretend to be good, so it's best to just take it slow. It's why I have this hat." She put it back on as if to illustrate her point. "Kind of silly looking, no? Some pokemon might be inclined to not take me very seriously if I look like a fool. And if they want to think that, then they can."

Koa cocked his head, studying Aige a little closer. 'Take it slow.' 'If they want to think that, then they can.' Now that he thought about it, it wasn't a bad ploy. It distinctly reminded him of something Kitto would do. How many times had Kitto told him battles were mental games as much as physical? Outsmart the opponent. "That's a cool idea," he said. "Catching people off guard with your hat."

"As for legendary pokemon, Ho-Oh's not a mercenary. Ho-Oh is..." he paused, remembering the sight of it soaring overhead, feathers blazing in the sun. The feather he'd received. How did he even begin to describe legendaries to someone who'd never known one?

"Think of the largest bird you've ever seen. A Fearow, or Talonflame. Now imagine it three times that size, feathers like flames and a tail and wings with the colors of a rainbow. It's incredible. But there's not just Ho-Oh, there's tons of them. All types, all across the world. Lugia is like a giant dragon that lives deep under the ocean. There's these three beasts, like huge Arcanine but different types. And these other avian pokemon who control fire and ice and lightning. Or Xerneas, it's like a giant blue Sawsbuck with horns like a shining tree. Yveltal is this terrifying red fearow and Rayquaza is a huge serpent that guards the skies and can calm Groudon and Kyogre. Or Latias and Latios who protect sailors. Then there's Giratina, who..." he stopped, realizing how much he'd rambled. "Legendary pokemon are uh, guardians of the world. Protectors of nature. They're incredibly powerful and unique and help keep the balance."

"You don't have anything like that?"

 

[RJr3:2]

"Wow, that's something to think about," Aige said, mentally trying to grasp Ho-oh's size. "So, 'keep the balance' and 'guardians'..." The Roggenrola perked up. "Would you say it's sort of like a religion? Not to imply that it is per say, but it sort of strikes as a similar concept."

"I don't know of anything like 'legendaries' like you say," Aige continued, "But I'm not going to dismiss it outright as not existing for me, because it could just be I don't know about them, or maybe they're more of a background force. It's just that I've never heard of the concept. But, if it were like religion, then I guess there's something similar for me. Where I live-"

She hesitated, searching for the right words.

"There's the Ministry of Flame. Tacky name in my opinion, but whatever. They believe in a god that enables them and empowers them, I believe it's name was Reshiram. So... not necessarily physical like you're saying, but the idea is similar?"

 

[Tetra]

At the mention of Reshiram, Koa's ears perked up. "My world has a Reshiram too! It was said to have lived in ancient Unova but then fell into a deep slumber, along with its sibling, Zekrom, after a war a long time ago." He'd definitely considered in the past that he could try to travel to Unova to meet them... That would be something. The idea that there was at least one similarity warmed his heart.

"It depends on the legendary in my world. I think Johto has people who worship Ho-Oh and Lugia. My home, Sinnoh, has a few people who see Arceus as a god. He's like... They say he created our universe. And some Unovan's sort of revere Reshiram and Zekrom, or stories about them. I guess it is similar to a religion, in a way." He'd honestly never been but in the rare moments Blake opened up about it he seemed more religious, especially with the Spirits of the Lake...

"But I don't think they're all like that. It seems like people choose to worship them, not that they want it. At least, I think. I haven't spoken to any of legendaries about it. People used to be into them but now they're... less popular." He briefly wondered if something similar was happening here. The books in the library vaguely referenced legends, could someone be trying to use them for something? It had to be a big problem if the local pokemon couldn't handle it. What if it was a legendary thing? Again. Did every organization want the power of legends?

"Is your Ministry of Flame good?" he asked hopefully.

 

[RJr3:2]

Aige was silent, deep in thought.

"Huh, I guess it's not completely strange for names to match up. I think we're just matching up in a few odd instances, because the ministry reveres Reshiram, but Zekrom is the name of one of the head ministers. Actually um, now that I think about it, he used to work for the advertising department of the agency I work at. Big guy, dark grey and black, with that big carrot for a tail that turns blue, right?"

"He never mentioned having a sibling," Aige said, a bit confused. "And I don't think he's the type of pokemon that would make something up like that... so I really don't know how exactly we have the same names for clearly different pokemon."

Aige hummed. "I don't think that's something we can answer right now. To answer your question though, the ministry is largely good I guess. I'm not religious myself, but I know they do a lot of outreach and philanthropy work. I suppose there might be other religions on other continents- I haven't heard of any though."

"Although..." Aige seemed thoughtful. "Guardian forces that are above reproach and are tangible figures? I like the sound of that."

 

[Tetra]

Advertising? Zekrom? That didn't sound right at all- Carrot tail?? But... the turning blue part seemed right, and he supposed if one squinted Zekrom's tail was kind of carrot shaped. So somehow their world had identical pokemon but Aige's Zekrom was simply... ordinary? At least this Ministry of Flame seemed like good guys, that was a nice change.

"They sound so similar. One is a white dragon who controls fire, and Zekrom is a black dragon who controls electricity... but where I'm from they're more than that. They are powerful and they supposedly represent truth and ideals. Thousands of years ago they were one pokemon. But then their kingdom had a war, and they supposedly split into two separate dragons...."

It hurt his head to think about. Having no legends made more sense but a Zekrom who was just a regular pokemon but Reshiram was worshipped made no sense to him. "Your Zekrom isn't related to Reshiram at all? So apparently anything can change in different worlds...."

 

[RJr3:2]

"I just said I didn't know if he was related, not if he was," Aige said, "He may be hiding something, and he might not. Beyond that, it's not immediately a bad thing if that means he's lying about something. But that's neither here nor there."

The Roggenrola looked at Koa. "So my world is like that, and yours is like this. I don't know that comparing the differences will help us much here- but we don't have much to go off of anyway. Um, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but where are you from?"

Aige nodded. "I live in Ameycogura. If our worlds have pokemon with the same names, but not the same countries, maybe that means something."

 

[Tetra]

"Ameycogura..." the word felt weird on his tongue. "Doesn't sound like anywhere I've heard of. Although you're right, I guess it doesn't make much difference what either of our worlds are like." There didn't seem to be any pattern he could observe among the summoned heroes either.

"My home is a city, Canalave, in a region called Sinnoh. Wait... Does your world have-" he lowered his voice, "-humans?"

 

[RJr3:2]

Aige wished she could convey herself more effectively through expressions.

"I've never heard of those places, but at risk of repeating myself, I can't claim to know every town and country on the planet. As for humans though..."

The Roggenrola tilted from side to side. "Haven't a clue about that either. Though I did hear some mentions of the word relating to our group. If you can fill me in, I'd appreciate it!"

 

[Tetra]

Another world without humans. But from what he could briefly gather, the topic was a bit contentious in this land. "I don't know yet but there seems to be something about them that's important. Humans in my world are like... I guess they're like a different species. We don't have powers like pokemon but we're good at inventing things. But not every world seems to have them. I ask because..."

He took a quick glance to make sure nobody was too close. "I started to wonder if it has anything to do with why we were brought here. I think someone said we shouldn't tell too many people. It seems a bit odd." He shrugged. "I suppose we can't know anything for sure though, and especially not until we get stronger, strong enough for whatever it is we're up against."

 

[RJr3:2]

Aige stared at Koa, trying to envision a human. "The only thing that pins you as a human is your declaration of such. The onus of trust in this case however falls upon those who would choose to believe you and act accordingly. They trust that you aren't lying such that they can use your status as a human to their advantage, whatever it may be."

"After all, both of us were brought through the same means, but your position is potentially more precarious than mine. I could say that I was a human, no? So unless there's some means of distinguishing the fact, we're still in a good spot."

The Roggenrola seemed happy. "I agree that we should keep it to our group, as much as is possible of course. What might be more important though is keeping it a secret exactly *who* is a 'human'."

"Here's my proposal," Aige said confidently, "Because we entered this world unprepared, it's best to assume that the knowledge that some of us are human is already filtering through some channels. So if anyone asks if we know about humans, we act ignorant, but if anyone asks specifically if we are humans, all of us should say yes to throw anyone off."

"That is assuming a bit of risks," Aige added in a low voice. "But more often than not, anyone who might specifically ask already has their suspicions. And if it turns out being a human is a bad thing, we'll flip the script and say we know about humans, but none of us are. Plausible deniability, so long as psychics aren't involved."

The Roggenrola started pacing around. "Your thoughts, Koamaru? I might be asking too much of you as there's not much risk on my end because I'm not a 'human'."

 

[Tetra]

Koa took a long moment to digest Aige's plan, his head cocked to the side. He turned it over in his mind, trrying to think what Kitto would say. Misdirect and deception. Mind games. Risky, yes, but given how he was sure that by some rumors must have spread about human turned pokemon, it wasn't completely absurd.

He flashed Aige a grin. "I say it sounds like a plan! Besides, risk doesn't bother me. I doubt we can keep it secret forever, but maybe we can learn something this way. Depends on if we can get everyone to agree though. Either way maybe playing the fool can get us something."