91st moon [the 4th Wall of Jericho]

[paladinlost]

[Ah, it's that time of the year again. And unlike last time, Cecil wakes up in his own bed (even though he'd been on his way back from Saffron when he fell asleep), surrounded by his own Pokémon (and Grimers, but at this point they're almost part of the family), and with his own belongings exactly where he left them (except for his left sock, but he's long learned to expect that).

He's safe, he's in a good mood, and he intends to stay that way for the rest of this madness. And this time, he's even in a position to share the joy with any visitors!

Which is why he's now grilling all sorts of food on a fire pit in his yard, while his Pokémon are bringing chairs and large cushions outside. That they manage to do so while linked to each other with duct tape is somewhat impressive, but he's too busy not burning a steak to admire their efficiency.]

Comments

[paladinlost]

Ah, Kain. How nice of you to visit me.

[Just ignore the monsters. The duct tape decorating the yard. The burning meat. The toxic sludge.

Cecil is hoping very hard that Kain will not see the toxic sludge.]

[dragoon_pride]

[Toxic...]

I have no idea what I'm doing here... but thank you, I suppose.

[No.. really, toxic sludge?]

What's that?

[paladinlost]

[Damn it.]

...Local monsters. Unpleasant to see and smell, but relatively harmless until they attempt to hug you.

[dragoon_pride]

Ah, how helpful. I'll keep that in mind when I'm next waiting patiently for a monster's embrace. But, Cecil, what's that?

[The sludge he's pointing to, man. What's the deal here?]

[paladinlost]

A local monster.

[Is that sludge not obviously sentient and monstruous and enjoying a hot dog?]

And far from the strangest-looking species, too. Another greatly resembles the sort of bags the locals use to store their refuse.

[dragoon_pride]

What a noble existence they must have... What are these ones called?

[He points to the... sludge.]

[paladinlost]

Grimers. You'll note that their names tend to be very appropriate.

[Almost as if they'd been chosen on purpose.]

[dragoon_pride]

[Kain eyes it for a long moment.]

Apparently they are... how many variations of these creatures are there, anyway?

[paladinlost]

A few hundreds. The exact number us difficult to tell, as certain species are little more than myths and others tend to suddenly appear every few years.

[dragoon_pride]

And they just roam freely around this world?

[It really seems more and more that it'd be like living in the Feymarch.]

[paladinlost]

As freely as the wind, at least until someone decides to catch them and force them into small plastic balls.

[dragoon_pride]

That sounds like a horrific fate.

[paladinlost]

Yet still better than being left in the PC, without even a physical body, unaging as time flows outside...

[dragoon_pride]

Is this "PC" something like the Feymarch?

[paladinlost]

[He shakes his head.]

PCs are very advanced machines, even more impressive than most of what we could see in the Tower of Zot or the Tower of Babil. You could fit one in any room of any house.

[dragoon_pride]

How strange... so these machines were created to store creatures like this?

[paladinlost]

[He nods.]

They have other functions, but this is the most useful of all. Not everyone has such a large house to hold their sea sepents.

[dragoon_pride]

I would imagine not, especially if people collect as many of them as you've implied they do.

[paladinlost]

Oh, they certainly do. Restricting the size of your team over the years is more difficult than it looks.

[dragoon_pride]

I can imagine. Has it at least been satisfying to deal with these creatures?

[paladinlost]

It certainly is. Watching a young pup or a tiny plant grow strong enough to tear trees apart with care and training is more than worth the effort.

[dragoon_pride]

Then... I suppose that's what matters. How many of them do you have in your... team?

[paladinlost]

I have...

[He pauses, turns around, and starts counting them. This might take a while.]

[dragoon_pride]

[Kain raises an eyebrow, folding his arms and watching him expectantly. He definitely hadn't expected it to take so much time.]

[paladinlost]

[This would probably be much easier if the three Gyarados didn't keep moving around and hiding behind each other, and if the Lilligants stayed still.]

...Fifty-three.