10 :: video/action for Cherrygrove

[digitalorunknown]

[So after a long, grueling four-and-a-half days of traveling through the wilderness while learning how to walk properly, Dorumon and his Bagon arrived in Cherrygrove City. They spent their first night curled up in a bush somewhere, because the concept of inns is something Dorumon hasn't been introduced to yet.

When morning comes, they're hungry (and a little sore, on Dorumon's part. This whole "human body" thing is going to continue to be a pain, isn't it?) So they go to find the food that they were promised they'd find here, looking as shabby and disreputable as a trainer and Pokemon who've been sleeping on the ground and not bathing for a week can.

They do find it, eventually, thanks to Bagon's willingness to run through any pair of open doors he can find. The grocery store, Dorumon decides as he goes through picking up an armful of whatever he recognizes as food, must be this world's greatest feature. It must have very caring overseers. He's smiling as he strolls right out the door with a small pile of apples and meat...]

[video portion 1]

[Hello world, it's a Bagon! This Bagon wants to let those people from before know, via mashing his nose into the camera and growling, that his trainer isn't completely ridiculous anymore and also they found food. So now they're ready to go find you all and show you just how awesome Bagon's going to-

-wait, hold on, something's going on. The camera tilts up. Overhead, Dorumon has stopped, looking back with an expression of wary confusion. There's yelling somewhere offscreen, something about stealing and "come on back here, kid". Dorumon blinks and shakes his head, looking more wary as the seconds tick by. He glances down, then back up.

The yelling gets louder and his eyes suddenly widen. Bagon yelps. The two bolt, video jerking erratically and partially obscured as Bagon hugs the Gear to his chest and hoofs it down the street. A loud thud makes him stop and turn - Dorumon's on the ground, his stuff's everywhere, the man chasing them (the store's manager, now that he and his uniform are on video) is catching up, and...

...from there, it goes right to hell. When the man tries to pick Dorumon up off the ground, the boy just starts fighting, headbutting and yelling and flailing and doing whatever he can to resist the poor, bewildered guy's attempts to restrain a petty thief.

Bagon watches this for a minute, then lets out a battle cry, dropping the Gear. It lands face-down on the ground, picking up more muffled yelling from all three parties for a few more seconds before shutting off.]

[video end]

[After that incident, and after he had everything explained to him and apologized and bought some food properly, Dorumon and Bagon wander around Cherrygrove, eating their lunch and exploring, Dorumon looking a little embarrassed and Bagon looking a little grouchy - and both of them looking very much like they have not only been sleeping on the ground and not bathing for a week, but have also just gotten into a brawl. It doesn't stop Bagon from running up to anything that looks interesting and poking it enthusiastically. Dorumon isn't quite as energetic as that - he's got things on his mind.

Incidentally, Dorumon isn't falling over himself at every step, but he's still not a very graceful walker. They stop a lot for him to lean on walls or sit down and regain his balance.]

[video portion 2]

Where do you get money? [short and sweet.]

Comments

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo didn't see the first video, but he responds to the second. He notices Dorumon's bedraggled appearance but says nothing about it.]

People give it to you if you do things for them or when you win a badge from a gym. I usually ask at the Pokémon Centers for work, but I've heard that the stores have work too.

[Video]

[digitalorunknown]

[....well

he knows one store he's probably not going to be able to do that at]

So can I just ask people?

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

I think that you're only supposed to ask people who are working at a store already if they have work for you. I'm not sure though. I've never tried asking people who are just walking around.

[Video]

[digitalorunknown]

[Ooooh. Okay, he can...figure that out somehow. But what about this other thing...]

What are gyms?

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

They're places where the Pokémon who are with you can challenge the Pokémon who are there to a fight, and if the Pokémon who are with you win, you get a badge, some money, and a TM or HM. Most of the towns seem to have one.

Don't try to make the Pokémon with you fight at the gyms if they don't want to though.

[Video]

[digitalorunknown]

[Bagon lets out a loud, rambunctious howl of a cry at the end of Apollo's explanation and snaps at the air. It's enough to make Dorumon jump a little and stare at him...then grin and chuckle lightly.]

Is that right? [Aimed at Bagon. Hee.]

[Video]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

A lot of Pokémon seem to like fighting. It sounds like the one who's with you does.

video portion two

[licentious]

[ Is someone seriously asking how they obtain money?

She doesn't want to live on this planet anymore! (Not that she ever did, but!) ]

I believe you obtain currency through something called a job. Now, I may not be sure about this, but you get these jobs through almost any business in Johto because, for some reason, the labor market never changes. [ There's a sassy woman named Lust here and she's going to make her presence known as helpful and unpleasant damn it! ]

video

[digitalorunknown]

[...Well, this kid totally misses any tone of sarcasm that's present, because even the basics are new to him. Whoops.]

So it's all just trading. [Food for money, money for work.] What's a labor market?

video

[licentious]

In a sense, yes. Money is a powerful symbol. A labor market is a study of the whole on how people obtain jobs, how much they are paid, and things of that nature. If there was no labor market, you would not be able to get a job.

video

[digitalorunknown]

[Give him a second to wrap his head around that.



The understanding he now has of this "labor market" thing is that it's a program in this world that handles value and trade and money things. SO CLOSE and yet

and yet.]

Who runs it?

video

[licentious]

[ You have got to be kidding her....

Congratulations, DORUmon. Lust thinks you're an idiot as evidenced by her very first facepalm in route history. ]

It's not run by anyone. It's too large for that. Instead, it's influenced by factors. The more business, conducted, the more need there is for labor.

video

[digitalorunknown]

[omg he's ten]

So it's an infinite process...? [Lady why are you doing that it looks like it hurts] Money must be something really powerful in this world.

[newberktown]

[Oh noooo, kid. He's glad to see your second video, after how that first one ended.]

You'll need to get a job--working at the pokemon center isn't too bad if you're bad with electronics and things. Machines. Do you need anything I can help with in the meantime?

[digitalorunknown]

[...Honestly, he wasn't sure whether he knew anything about machines or not. But Gear is intuitive enough for him. That counts, right? Anyways, what could be more complex than the kinds of things Alphamon was capable of?]

I...might be good with electronics.

[He pauses, then shakes his head slowly at Hiccup's question.] I want to make sure we have food. [He's not quite sure what to do after that, but food takes first priority.] There are places other than here where you can find food, right? [You're not in this city, right? So...]

[newberktown]

You're already more equipped than I was when I first arrived, then.

[He'd managed to catch on pretty quickly, though.]

I'm not sure if there's other places in Cherrygrove--but every city has a place to buy food, if that's what you mean. And the pokemon center will let you spend the night for free, if you don't want to spend money on an inn. If you end up not having enough to pay for things before you can get paid, just let me know though, okay? I can wire some money to you.

[digitalorunknown]

[Spend the night, huh? Sleeping indoors would be nice, if the people in the buildings would let him. He'll give it a try.] I think I'd like to go exploring, as long as I know we won't go hungry. If I stayed here, I don't really know what I'd do with all the extra time. [Spare time is a new and daunting concept.]

...Thank you. I will. [...] Why are you helping me out so much?

[newberktown]

I see no reason not to.

[You're a young non-human in a strange world where you didn't understand the concept of buying something, Dorumon...]

[digitalorunknown]

[Once upon a time, hearing something like that would've confused him.

Now, though...that's good enough. Dorumon grins a little.] Thanks. [He made a friend!]

video

[viiru2alert]

With... a job...?

[It's astounding, really, how little some of these people know coming into the Pokémon world. He saw the previous shenanigans, but won't make any comment on them... yet.]

You work for people, you get money. It's that simple.

video

[digitalorunknown]

I get it now. [Bagon stop trying to eat - ahhh sigh never mind.] I'd never used money before. Everyone usually had to find their own food.

[...He's starting to pick up on how surprised people are that he didn't know this. Doesn't feel bad yet, but feels kinda weird.]

video

[viiru2alert]

You lived in the wild?

[Well, that... makes a bit more sense, he guesses.]

Were you an animal before coming here?

video

[digitalorunknown]

I was a Digimon. Not really an animal. [More like a...dragon species? But he was sort of like a beast species...oh, it's complicated.]

video

[viiru2alert]

The fuck is a Digimon?

[He doesn't sound particularly... angry, or anything. Genuinely interested, more like. The "fuck" is just there because Sollux.]

video

[digitalorunknown]

[It's not like anyone could do anything to him over this if they did get angry. That's one nice thing about it.]

Digimon are...more like Pokemon than humans. We're Digital Monsters. [This is the tone of someone who is struggling to find more words to explain a basic concept.] It's just the creatures that live in my world.