Searching Far and Wide

[intricate_engineer]

Glen was creating a prototype for a new gate design. It was meant to be affordable and provide quick transport between individual homes. She tests several objects and a rat and everything seems to be working.

She steps through. Instead of finding herself in the room next door, she finds herself standing on a sidewalk in an empty city. The buildings are tall and perfect, colorless with doorways far too tall for any human. The roads have no straight lines and twist in on themselves. There is no life or sound.
Glen tries to stay calm. She begins to walk along the road, randomly opening doors and exploring buildings that are as silent as the rest of the world.

She opens a door that she hopes will lead onto a roof and is instead met with warmth, and soft noise, and color.

Comments

[the_very_best]

"Yeah we have that."

[intricate_engineer]

"Great. I want to send messages to a bunch of random researchers. Can I do that?"

[the_very_best]

"If they have public addresses."

[intricate_engineer]

"I'm sure I can find at least a couple who do, and maybe a couple of those will take it seriously. Do you have a computer I could borrow?"

[the_very_best]

"Just this," Bella says, indicating her computer-watch. "Not really ideal for the purpose."

[intricate_engineer]

"Do they have public ones at libraries?"

[the_very_best]

"And Pokécenters," nods Bella.

[intricate_engineer]

"Would you mind helping me use one?"

[the_very_best]

"Not at all. We can catch you something and bring it to a center and give you a computer lesson while we're there."

[intricate_engineer]

"Sounds like a plan!"

[the_very_best]

"Almost there. That looks like a good spot," Bella says, pointing.

And presently she lands her bird.

[intricate_engineer]

Glen climbs off and looks around.

[the_very_best]

"You wade through the grass and eventually you'll surprise something or something'll surprise you, and it'll yell, and you let out your rental," Bella says, "and then you tell it what to do. Unless you want me to do the whole thing."

[intricate_engineer]

"No, I got this."
Glen strides into the grass as confidently as she can manage.

[the_very_best]

And eventually she all but trips over a low-slung fuzzy creature that yells "ZIG!" at this indignity.

[intricate_engineer]

She fumbles for her Pokéball and throws it onto the ground.
"Uh, please attack!"

[the_very_best]

"You're gonna have to be more specific," Bella calls, "did you read the infosheet they gave you?" But the Machop bursts out and starts swiping at the fuzzy one.

[intricate_engineer]

"Uh, yes. Thanks Machop! Please use Karate Chop." Glen says all of this somewhat frantically.

[the_very_best]

That gets better results. The Zigzagoon retaliates, but the Machop has it well outclassed.

[intricate_engineer]

"Karate Chop please."

[the_very_best]

And it doesn't take very long before the Zigzagoon is all tuckered out. "Chuck a ball at it," advises Bella.

[intricate_engineer]

Glen does.

[the_very_best]

And now the critter is in the ball and Glen has two of those subtle connectednesses.

[intricate_engineer]

"Is it alright?"

[the_very_best]

"It'll be fine, but you'll want to get it to a center before you try to get it to do much. You'll probably want an intro training guidebook. Those jobbies evolve into the same thing as my Zag - Zigzagoon to Linoone - they're pretty common in this region."