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

[intricate_engineer]

"That's reassuring. Definitely different from most animals in the worlds I know."

[the_very_best]

"Mon are their own thing!"

[intricate_engineer]

"Yea. This really is a fascinating world. Where do you normally stay by the way? Do you camp out?"

[the_very_best]

"I camp, if I'm near the towns my parents live I stay with them," says Bella, "I can crash at guild buildings if I'm near one of those, Pokémon centers have hostels."

[intricate_engineer]

"Okay so I have this really awesome tent that I technically shouldn't have. Do you want to see it?"

[the_very_best]

"Sure. Why shouldn't you have it?"

[intricate_engineer]

"Well, it's magic. There are a lot of rules governing the exchange of magical objects, especially ones that can't be mass produced. We're definitely not supposed to take magical object into new worlds. But it was a gift from a friend, and I've tested to make sure it won't interfere with anything."

[the_very_best]

"With anything? How do you test to make sure it's completely - nonreactive?"

[intricate_engineer]

"It's completely self contained. The outside looks like a normal sheet of plastic, so as long as nothing gets inside it reacts like a normal piece of plastic would. I checked independently with several different sources of magic. I know it doesn't do anything to my portals at least. Probably there's something it would mess up, but the chance of dying from lack of shelter is higher than the chance of dying because of a weird reaction with unknown magic."

[the_very_best]

"All right. But we do need to get your 'mon to a Pokécenter so we'll be in a town anyway."

[intricate_engineer]

"Alright. Do they prefer to stay inside their balls? Or is it better to let them out whenever I can?"

[the_very_best]

"Some of them have strong preferences but most of them are pretty neutral about it. I usually don't have more than one out at once unless I'm having 'em spar, but that's just me liking to have better track of them, some people barely use the balls."

[intricate_engineer]

"How do I tell?"

[the_very_best]

"If they're always super excited to come out or look unhappy when they're about to be put back," shrugs Ace, "they're probably not major fans of the balls."

[intricate_engineer]

"Are there emotions easy to read?"

[the_very_best]

"You get to know yours. Some of the species and some individuals are harder to tell with."

[intricate_engineer]

Glen nods.
"How often do they need to eat?"

[the_very_best]

"Once or twice a day. Three if you have them out a lot doing stuff."

[intricate_engineer]

"Can they get sick?"

[the_very_best]

"Not as much as humans do, and you can just take 'em to a Pokécenter if it doesn't clear up by itself."

[intricate_engineer]

"Is there anything else they need? Do they need time to be social? Or time to run around?"

[the_very_best]

"They like it but need is maybe an overstatement? How much they benefit from it varies. Some 'mon come out to fight and eat and train and otherwise hang out in balls and they're fine, some are out all the time and like that, I dunno what yours are like!"

[intricate_engineer]

"I guess I'll just have to wait and see."

[the_very_best]

"Yup! And you can trade 'em or let 'em go if you don't like 'em."

[intricate_engineer]

"Can Pokemon survive in a different habitat?"