paladinlost | 82nd moon [video]

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82nd moon [video]

[Tap tap tap, goes a hand against a wooden surface. A counter, probably, since all the video shows is the ceiling of Celadon's best bar.]

On the one hand, Rosa is not here to dine with me tonight and I've won no badge today. On the other hand, I'm not still suffering from painful burns all over my limbs. All in all, I'd consider this third anniversary acceptable.

[The tapping is almost a song by now, one that could be familiar to him but to no one else.]

But I never was one to be content with a merely acceptable situation. Thus, let's improve it together. Reply to me on the network, and I'll offer you the most sincere compliment I can think of; come see me in person, and I'll pay all your drinks tonight. That sounds fair enough to me.

[It also sounds better than drinking the night away by himself, which is the important part.]

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Man, you've seriously been to other worlds? Consider yourself lucky. I'd kill to see what else is out there.

[It's that Riku wanderlust kicking in. One of the downsides of being stuck here is that he's been able to see the worlds he encounters in his future.

Ah well.]

Thanks, though. I think part of it's just... the way this place works, I guess. The Breeding Center's just as lucky, and overall the economy here seems pretty relaxed. You definitely don't see much poverty, anyway.

Only once, I'm sad to say. It was a beautiful world, and the people I met there even made up for the endless fighting.

[That wanderlust is met with the Cecil brand of misplaced nostalgia, of course.]

It's one of the most surprising aspects of this world, but hardly one I'd complain about. Where else could children and teenagers learn to own property and manage businesses so young? ...Even if I'm not quite certain what is the local age of majority...

Endless fighting? Are we talking a war?

[That's the only thing he can think of, at any rate. That, or the people there just bickered all the time.]

And I'd guess that the age of maturity's, like... ten. That's when kids get their trainer's license, anyway, and some of the Gym Leaders are kids and teens. Just look at Blue.

[He can't be much older than fourteen.]

A war between gods, yes. One that we won, even if I'm still not quite certain what that meant.

[Other than getting to go home. If only leaving this world was that easy...]

Considering Blue's team, refusing his qualification based on his age would have been foolish of whoever nominates Gym leaders. But I could swear I've seen trainers younger than ten on the road...

Between gods... Dang, that sounds brutal. How do you even go up against deities?

[Granted, his experience with gods is lacking. The Regis don't count.

But he's got a point about Blue. Heh, the one Gym Leader who presents one heck of a challenge...]

I guess you've got exceptions to the rule. I just remember hearing about trainers getting their starter at age ten. Maybe all those other kids are prodigies.

[Or their parents raise Pokémon. That might be a bit more likely.]

You dodge as much as you can, you never let your guard down, and you hope your luck holds as long as possible.

[Never touching the ground also helps, but he's quite aware not everyone can manage that.]

Or they could have received a Pokémon from their parent at a younger age, either bought or captured, regardless of the starter tradition. I doubt that's illegal, considering the locals' lifestyle.

So it's basically just endurance? Not taking them out?

[Well, on the other hand, taking out a god probably would throw things out of whack.]

And maybe it's not illegal, but you've gotta wonder how many parents actually let their kids go out before age ten. And why ten in the first place? Pokémon might protect the kids, but they're basically letting them off the leash and out into the wilderness.

Oh, ideally you do take them out eventually. But good openings in their defenses are few and far between, and you need to stay alive long enough to get one.

[It kinda sorta condemned that one world to a slow drawn-out death, not that Cecil has been told about that. Oops.]

Ten is a nice round number, and also at least five years too young. Even starters can dislike their trainers; what happens when children do not even have that minimal protection?

And I take it they're the kind of gods who could kill you blindfolded and with both hands tied behind their backs.

[Or at the very least, could do so with little effort. God does imply power, after all.]

It wouldn't surprise me if there were accidents, though. Hate to sound morbid, but kids aren't always responsible. They treat their team like trash, and I'm sure it'd come back to bite them later on.

Chaos was, at least. Cosmos's powers, while great, were not combat-oriented or aggressive, from what I've seen.

[That is not to say they were useless, of course. Merely not enough to directly fight a god of discord.]

Yet we never hear about them, not counting those who post on the network with their hair on fire. Could it be that the locals cover them up?

Sheesh, with a name like Chaos, I can see why. So, was this Chaos on his side? An enemy?

[All this is so wild, so intriguing. It's almost like reading about legendary Pokémon, just from someone's personal experience. Hopefully Cecil doesn't mind all the questions!

But cover ups, huh? Riku's brow furrows, and he strokes his chin.]

I'm sure there's a cover up involved. Kids getting injured, maybe even killed... that's bad press. Wouldn't that push parents to keep their kids from becoming trainers in the first place?

Chaos was the leader of the opposite side, and he had a tendancy to summon either terrible people or estranged relatives. We had no choice but to kill most of his warriors before we fought him. ...Yet for all the trouble he caused us, I cannot help but pity him.

[That might have been a side effect of feeling all that despair, though.]

It certainly would, but at the same time I cannot imagine that they would not know the risks. Unless that information is hidden to convince the children, not the parents...

Estranged relatives? [...snort.]

That's kind of an odd combo, but why the pity? Is there more to his story?

[Then again, grey areas pop up all the time. Maybe this is one of those cases.]

That probably depends on the kids, though. Some kids would look at those dangers and feel even more compelled to go out there and train. Kids can be pretty rebellious-- believe me, I know that from experience.

...It took killing Cosmos for him to realize that his war with her was his only reason to exist. Realizing what he lost, and knowing that it was his own doing... Even as that world grew unstable, we could fear his despair spreading.

[They still killed him, of course, pity or not.]

Would you have been the type to leave home with a fox that breathes fire, knowing that the last child from your town had been found as a scorched corpse? That's the sort of situation that could easily happen.

...Ouch. That was seriously his only reason for existing? Or was that something he decided for himself?

[No matter how you look at it, it's still depressing as heck, even if Riku wouldn't blame Cecil for killing Chaos.]

...And when you put it that way, I don't know. Guess I might've been a bit intimidated, but the stubborn side of me probably would've taken that fox and tried to prove it could be tamed.

He was a god of discord, while she was a goddess of harmony. Perhaps wanting to destroy her was part of his nature.

[Or maybe he just didn't know what else to do.]

That sort of determination could be helpful when dealing with particulat stubborn Pokémon, I suppose. Or lead to some nasty burns.

...Okay, when you put it that way, I guess it makes sense. Can't really expect peace and chaos to play nice with each other. They're like polar opposites.

[And people tend to be cautious around those who're different, anyway.]

And I'd say that depends on the approach and the Pokémon. Who's to say that Vulpix wouldn't push their trainer right back?

A large and terrible demon of war fighting against a beautiful and peaceful woman. Polar opposites is a good term for it.

[Even their colors schemes were opposed. Details like that are important.]

Push, or bite? I can imagine a Pokémon deciding that it wants to lead the group, human included.

That different? Well, I guess if I tried picturing peace and chaos, I'd come up with something like that. Maybe throw in horns and flames for the war demon.

[Then again, that's just your standard devil imagery. For all Riku knows, this guy was totally different.]

But I'd say they'd push, bite, and burn, if they're rowdy enough. Even worse if it's something tougher, like an Onix or Rhyhorn.

There were plenty of horns and flames, both on his body and in his lair. The atmosphere was very impressive, if you enjoy that.

[The crotch face is not to be mentioned.]

An affectionate Onix could be worse than a rebellious one. Can you imagine the hugs?

Sounds like it'd go great with Halloween, if it weren't for the whole god of chaos bit.

[Then again, even that little detail could go right into a horror film.]

Please, if you think an Onix is bad, try an affectionate Steelix. Or, heck, how about a Wailord?

He'd make the skeleton monsters and the eerie music seem much more pleasant suddenly, that's for certain.

[It sure gives people plenty of nightmares.]

Wailords cannot possibly be that heavy. They can learn Bounce without destroying nearby cities.

Well, yeah, but Dragonites can fly with tiny wings and rock types can learn Surf. I get the feeling Pokémon have some secret, physics-smashing power.

It would be quite nice if that also applied to, say, flying Bug-types. You'd think they'd use it to transport us better than any Pidgey.

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82nd moon [video]

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video - sorry this is so late. I lost a ton of tags in his inbox. /)(\

video - No problem♥

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