[Action] Let's Talk to Pokémon!

[sixwholeplates]

[Backdated to the 11th.]

[Cecilia talked to Apollo and Lucas about the same thing: needing to talk to Pokémon to find out if they had seen any iron lately. It seems like a good idea to her, though it came from Apollo. But she can do that -- at least with ones that talk. And thus, here she waits, near the indicated place.]

[A huge, ancient oak stands up behind her, and sits on the crest of a hill. It makes it stand out. It's hard to miss. Being short, Cecilia is just dwarfed by it.]

[But, worst of all... she doesn't know Lucas's name.]

Comments

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo won't risk getting himself stuck and is about to turn back when he sees the "boulder" move. He stops and carefully sets down the branch, not wanting to look threatening. His mental attention focuses on the mind before him, the relative quiet of a sleeping mind having been harder to pinpoint through the noise of everyone else, even this close. He begins sending calmness and a sense of safety at the Pokémon, being careful to be gradual about it and not jolt them awake; he wants to make sure that his presence isn't a source of fear and alarm when the sleeper awakens.]

[bravenewmods]

[Hippopotas slowly blinks awake, having vaguely sensed in some fashion that there was something nearby it should pay attention to. It hefts its head in Apollo's direction and stares dully.

...
...
...

Then it sneezes a thick cloud of dust and sand, following which it sniffs a few times.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[If there was any reaction that Apollo was expecting, that one wasn't it. He coughs at the cloud of dust, lifts the collar of his coat to cover his nose and mouth, pulls it back to sneeze a few times, then recovers his lower face and blinks rapidly as his eyes tear up to get rid of the dust.

Once he can focus a bit better, he mentally sends a greeting and asks if the Hippopotas has noticed any iron around, sending his own impressions of what iron is: what the ore that's fed to the Aron in the habitat tower looks like, what rust is like, what worked iron looks like, and so on. He's well aware that this is a complicated concept to get across, especially when he isn't sure how intelligent his conversational partner is, but he's going to try his hardest.]

[bravenewmods]

[The Hippopotas still seems rather sleepy, so all Apollo will get for a few moments is confusion and a blank sort of expression. When the image of the rust comes through, though, it will blink before sluggishly getting to its feet and meandering over to the wall.

It will concentrate before releasing another snort of dust that settles over the walls of the cave. The powder is reddish.

Ta-da~

Red rock.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[...Could it be? If this unknown Pokémon eats metal it could be. Apollo will move over to one of the now-red walls, being careful not to make sudden movements, and rub some of the dust between his fingertips to see if it leaves a rust stain on his skin.]

[bravenewmods]

[...It leaves a dirt stain.

The walls of the cave are some sort of red-tinged clay.

Hippopotas looks satisfied and seems ready for the heaping accolades that are sure to be bestowed upon it.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo is as honest as usual and tells the Hippopotas that this wasn't the kind of red rock that he was looking for and asking if it knew of any other kinds in the area.]

[bravenewmods]

[But where are its heaping accolades...

Hippopotas huffs a little and seems annoyed at its generosity being rejected. The red dust was its favorite if you mixed it with water and rolled around in it it felt so good.

...The answer to that is probably 'no'.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[That was disappointing. With the channel left open as it were, Apollo's disappointment came through, though it certainly wasn't disappointment at the Hippopotas, but rather disappointment that success in the search hadn't come so quickly.

But the search for iron ore wasn't the only thing on his mind. He'd never seen a Pokémon like this before, which meant that there was a good chance that others hadn't either. It didn't seem to mind his presence and was willing to help him; maybe it would be interested in meeting more humans?

Apollo projects images of Union, the habitat tower, humans and Pokémon working alongside each other, all kinds of peaceful scenes from daily life, but also some not-so-peaceful scenes, scenes of him and the other Rangers in their duties protecting the city and its inhabitants, of trying desperately to convince hostile Pokémon that the humans weren't a threat. The overall collection of images is of course tinged by Apollo's perceptions and is a bit more hopeful than the reality, but he makes an effort to be as honest and open as he can, so that the Hippopotas will be able to answer the question that follows.

Would the Hippopotas be interested in coming with him and meeting the humans and Pokémon who live in Union? Apollo's sure that there would be plenty of people who would be interested in meeting the Hippopotas, too. And of course, if it turned out not to like the city, Apollo would escort it back to the canyon and not disturb it again if it asked. What did it think of that?]

[bravenewmods]

[Hippopotas ponders all of this in its slow, methodical way, and perhaps it isn't clear at first whether or not it even really understands what is being asked. After a moment or two, though, it will lumber towards the small opening towards the back of the passage and vanish.

Apollo might think this is a rejection, but then, its thoughts hadn't indicated as such, really. There is a scraping noise for two or three minutes...

Then it reemerges with something clamped in its mouth - the end is sticking out. It is a large, white tooth.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo notes the lack of a direct rejection and waits patiently for the Hippopotas's return. The tooth doesn't look like it's from a species that he's familiar with, which leaves him with several guesses as to its significance, many of which could be valid.

He admits his lack of knowledge of the tooth's nature and asks if the Hippopotas would be able to tell him about it.]

[bravenewmods]

[Hippopotas seems slightly surprised before patiently introducing him to Mother.

OK, it's all packed now.

Let's go.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo's slightly surprised as well - that most certainly wasn't one of his guesses as to the tooth's significance - but he greets Hippopotas's mother (or something roughly equivalent; the mental contortions required to send a psychic message to an inanimate object while letting someone else "overhear" it are enough to make his head start hurting) and indicates that of course she's welcome to come too.

He starts walking towards the entrance.]

[bravenewmods]

[If Apollo ever feels like getting the tooth examined he will find that it indeed belonged to a Hippowdon.

Perhaps the Hippopotas isn't slow more than it is quite young.

Congratulations! Apollo has successfully bonded with Hippopotas! It is Level 11 but the rest of its stats may be chosen at your discretion.]