On being app'd to route_29

[punchandkiss]

So let me see if I've got this straight...

When you dragged me into your head, it was to go on 'an adventure in space' where I got to keep my Dragon and my axe. And it was pretty okay. But then you got bored and I got to go home!

And now here I am again and you're sending me somewhere where I don't get to keep my dragon or my axe, Instead I am getting some sort of cute...creature...that fights other creatures. And I'm not allowed to fight myself? At all?

And I will never have my axe! Ever! Just some little...thing...called an axew which is not the same thing! No I won't call it a pokemon, what does that even mean?

This is a terrible idea!

Yeah, it's...nice enough that Hiccup will be there, I guess but I don't see how that makes up for leaving my axe behind! Or Stormfly!

You're not listening to a word I say, are you.

Comments

[newberktown]

Nice that I'll be there, huh?

[Because he's used to all that other depressing stuff.]

And hey, Johto's way better than 'an adventure in space'. Probably.

[nemurihime]

It's really not so bad usually, but...what would you need an axe for?

[punchandkiss]

[She rolls her eyes.] Yes Hiccup, 'nice'. If you knew I'd be there, but Toothless wouldn't, what would you say?

[And then she smirks.]

I don't know. I met machines that could talk, flew through jungles in space, saw strange beings from the stars...it was pretty amazing, really. For that sort of stuff, anyway.

[punchandkiss]

It's an axe. It's for fighting. Or chopping wood. Or brandishing at people.

What wouldn't I need it for?

ninja-girl here had kinda adopted Hiccup and Toothless while she was there

[bywiseguidance]

Now, it is hardly as bad as all that. I am sure Hiccup will be able to explain everything. And your Pokemon will be a good companion.

...That sounds rather adorable.

[punchandkiss]

Hiccup always explains everything, but that doesn't mean what he says makes any sense.

Maybe. But I'd really rather just have Stormfly. And my axe...

[doitrockapella]

Adventures are what you make of them, you know. If you're determined to hate it in Johto, you probably will.

Which is too bad, because I'm certainly looking forward to meeting one of Hiccup's friends.

[punchandkiss]

I'm not against it, really. I've done stranger things, at this point. It just seems like a pretty big downside.

You're friends with Hiccup?

[newberktown]

[Welp. Route had been like that, except the names switched. He had certainly missed Astrid, and he would be much happier in-game if he knew she would be arriving.]

Oh, sure, that's cool, but I bet you couldn't make your own mini-blizzard for a week or talk to a young Trickster god.

[...No, really, space sounds cool.]

[doitrockapella]

We've traveled together. And I happen to have a few dragons of my own that he's fond of.

I presume you're a Viking, too?

[punchandkiss]

Why would I want to make a blizzard? It did rain black rocks that killed people, but I pretty much...stayed inside for that one. And there was a woman who had magic powers, but no gods.

[She frowns.]

Anyway, you're there, right? This...Johto place?

[She says it like 'joes toes'.]

[punchandkiss]

Dragons? Right, there are...pokemon dragons? But they're not like the ones back home.

Yeah, of course. We're from the same town.

[newberktown]

...Alright, so the blizzard isn't actually fun.

[But just going to push that fact asiiide~ And grin.]

I'm in Johto, alright. [His pronunciation is spot on, naturally.] Nobody else from home is there, though. Not anymore, at least.

[punchandkiss]

Right. Johto. [Joes toes again. A little closer, maybe. Joe toes.]

So what's it like? Do these little...things...make up for no dragons? Or axes?

[She might be rather stuck on the axe part.]

[doitrockapella]

There are several Pokemon dragons. And dinosaurs, which are similar enough that you might mistake one for the other. I suspect Hiccup's on a crusade to collect all of them, so I imagine you'll be seeing quite a few of them firsthand.

[punchandkiss]

Apparently I'm getting an 'Axew.' Because of irony. Or just that my mun is a jerk.

Dinosaurs. [She only even knows what those are because of the space station she was on. But they were pretty intimidating.] And you can have them as pets?!

[doitrockapella]

Ah, good, I was just about to 'Axew' which starter your player had in mind.

[CARMEN WHY. WHY.]

Some of them make good pets. Others are versatile in a number of ways — as messengers, transportation, protection. They're remarkable creatures.

[punchandkiss]

...That was terrible.

I mean, I guess it sounds interesting. And that competition might be fun...

[Astrid? Competitive? Of course not...]

[newberktown]

[Astrid, there is no 's'. ...But Hiccup figures it's best not to argue with her. Her axe probably hasn't been taken away yet.]

It's...interesting, that's for sure. Nothing could ever replace the dragons on Berk, but you'll grow to love pokemon, too. Some of them actually are dragons. And they can hold their own in a fight.

[He has no fondness for axes. Using pokemon for battle was much better.]

[punchandkiss]

It might not be completely awful, then. If they can fight. And train, right? There's something about trainers and...badges?

[Yeah, Hiccup is just completely wrong there. Axes > everything.]

[newberktown]

[Wrong, Astrid. DRAGONS > everything, including axes.]

Training is kind of the point, unless you end up as a breeder. [Not that he spent his first four-or-five-ish months doing very much training, oops.] But you can earn badges, sure. You get them from battling gym leaders, elite trainers, with your pokemon. I have three.

[punchandkiss]

[That would be a tie. maybe.]

Why would I want to be a breeder? Three?

Well, if you've got three, I bet it can't be that hard. [er...]

[newberktown]

It's not like people choose to be breeders. Well, I mean, I guess you could apply for a license if you wanted, but--

[...Astrid, why.]

Oh, I don't know... It takes a while, especially with all the traveling you have to do, too.

[punchandkiss]

You need a license to breed your pets?

[No, she's not going to stop calling them pets.]

It can't be that much traveling, Hiccup. How big can a place be?

[newberktown]

No, but it's more...official, or something. [He doesn't really know. JOHTO LOGIC.]

Uh... It took me almost a week to get from one city to another, once?

[That was before FLYING ON DRAGON.]

[doitrockapella]

[Well, that's easy bait right there.]

Oh, that's right. And there's the Gym Challenge. Testing your skills against a set of elite trainers to see how well you fare against them.

[punchandkiss]

Huh.

I'm not sure 'Hiccup speed' is the best method of gauging distance, Hiccup. How many times did you get distracted on your way there?

[punchandkiss]

Yeah, and winning badges or something, right? Now that I could do.

[doitrockapella]

Could you? It's not just about strength, in battles like these. It takes a good balance of skill, power, and planning to make a gym win happen.

[A pause.]

Though I have a feeling you'll do just fine.

[punchandkiss]

So...like any other battle?

I'm a viking. It's kind of what we do.

[doitrockapella]

As the Chinese proverb goes, sometimes "the greatest victory is the battle not fought". I don't doubt that you're a skilled fighter. But it's the battles you'll avoid that I'm more curious about.

[punchandkiss]

[Astrid isn't the best at that part, really.]

But isn't the point of these...pokemon...to fight and win the battles?

[doitrockapella]

[Clearly that's where Carmen comes in, young grasshopper.]

That's what they'll tell you. But do you always take what people say for granted, without thinking it through for yourself?

[punchandkiss]

...No. [Maybe most of the time shut up.]

But if it's a sport. Or a game. With rules. You just follow the rules right?

[doitrockapella]

That's for you to decide, especially once you meet your partner the Axew. Johto is what you make of it. If you decide that the race for the badges is what's right for you, then it's a good goal to strive for. Just don't be fooled into thinking that's the only path to walk.

[punchandkiss]

Well...what else would there be?

[nemurihime]

[Everything, is what Chihaya wants to say. People Astrid's age don't...carry axes...or anything like that. Silly era differences.]

I see...I don't think you'll need it for those things in Johto, at least?

[doitrockapella]

You could see the world, explore the new locations, meet people from places entirely different to yours and share experiences with them, make friends, try new things, take advantage of opportunities you might never have had back home. There's a world of potential waiting for you, and it'd be a shame to waste it because you didn't notice it was there in the first place.

Hiccup and I were thinking of building a hot-air balloon, for one thing.

[punchandkiss]

Okay. But if Hiccup is right about traveling to do the...badges...wouldn't you do all of those things while training?

...That's some sort of 'wacky' Hiccup invention, isn't it. [Pause] What's it do?

[punchandkiss]

But what if I get in a fight? Or need firewood? Or have to scare away an enemy?

These are all axe-related concerns.

[doitrockapella]

You certainly could. But training, while a good and sensible idea, is still just as much your own choice as all the other things are. And many people are inclined to forget that.

A hot-air balloon? It's a type of simple flying machine. Hot air rises, so by filling what amounts to a large bag with hot air and attaching it to a suspended basket, you can fly without a dragon's wings to help you.

[punchandkiss]

But I like training.

[She is trying to imagine this balloon and it's not really working.]

Is it fast?

[nemurihime]

I usually start a fire with kindling. I think Pokémon are used for the rest, though.

[doitrockapella]

Not at all. It's a very leisurely way of traveling by air.

[punchandkiss]

Kindling is fine for starting a fire, but it's not good for a nice warm blaze.

[What? Viking's think big.]

But I can do it myself, I don't need a pet to do it for me.

[punchandkiss]

Oh.

I guess I'm just used to flying really fast, anymore. Stormfly was one of the fastest dragons in the village!

[newberktown]

[Wow okay, you're going to make him feel bad soon, Astrid.]

None. [Pause.] Practically none. With my foot, it was a perfectly respectable travel time!

[punchandkiss]

[She's just seen how easily distracted he can be!]

I guess walking that far with...yeah, fine, okay. But I don't think I believe that 'practically' part. [A smile.]

And maybe it's a little bit better than 'nice' to know you're there. A little bit. Maybe.

[What are emotions shut up.]