immortallifeform:

Pokemon… So they were the animals of this world? It did explain the furry bear. Although… how did you classify the tri-brained creature, then? It had to be a Pokemon, right? Then what animal did it take after? Or was it something specific to…

… Orchard? Apple orchard or something different? Argh, this was getting so confusing.

But not as confusing as the… thing that came down the tree with a thread. A caterpillar. That was pink and white, along with three yellow points and a yellow eye. Sure, it was approximately the size of an actual caterpillar, but… But from Rebecca’s tone and phrasing, it was still young, still had some growing to do.

…. Time to ask.

“… Forgive me if this is rude, but I’m not from here, so I’m not familiar with the… fauna, I guess? And whatever that furry bear was, it was okay, but… I saw you with a tri-brained creature which looked locked inside a liquid of sorts and now I’m… not sure what’s up with the tri-colored caterpillar. I know these are probably all Pokemon, since they were being treated in a Pokemon Center which looked like a hospital or a veterinarian center, but I’m just… confused. What are Pokemon?”

And if Rebecca turned around, she’d be met by the most confused face. He couldn’t figure it out. And it was bugging him, now.

Rebecca turned to him just as the thread snapped and the tiny Wurmple plopped into her hand. She blinked then softly chuckled.

“It’s not rude at all, it’s fine. I have to remember sometimes that not everyone knows what these are. Yeah, they’re the fauna of this world. Sometimes flora too if they blend in well enough.”

“Here, take a look at this one. S’called a Wurmple.”

She squatted down and held her hand down so the other could see better. The tiny little Bug type let out a happy chitter and a coo up at the other.

“They’re classified into types for simplicity’s sake. For example, Wurmple is a Bug type while Goop, my Reuniclus, is a Psychic type. Pokemon can be dual typed as well.”

immortallifeform:

Hark was not often treated as a child. After everything that had happened, people tended to treat him like an adult, or something older. Someone who knew too much, seen too much, and needed the care of an old man, in some ways.

But, sometimes, the care of an old man and the care of a child equaled themselves. The care of someone who needed it… didn’t change much.

And that was why, after he smiled at the lights flickering on, he simply hummed an agreement at the question, taking in the name, but, for once, not caring too much just yet. She’d catch on, he knew that, but, for the moment, he’d enjoy it.

He looked up at her – taller than him, not surprising, just strange – and gave a smile.

“Beach resorts always get pretty quiet at night, save for the occasional midnight swimmer.”

“Mhm, though all the Pokemon in the bay discourage that kind of thing these days.”

Rebecca softly chuckled as she deftly moved a branch out of the way of her face as she walked.

“Not much further now. You’ll be able to spot the orchard first.”

As she walked, a tiny Wurmple came down from a tree on a thread, letting out a small squeaking noise, similar to a coo. Rebecca held up her free hand under it so it wouldn’t fall.

“Oh, hey there little one. Careful now, your threads are still thin.”

immortallifeform:

By then, Hark had indeed drifted off, sleeping soundly in the chair while barely moving save for a light twitch in his left hand, which kept giving light sparks before briefly turning into water and disappearing. It was only when she tapped his shoulder that he woke up, shaking himself awake and meeting Rebecca’s gaze, blinking for a few seconds.

What? What was…?

… Oh.

He looked at the hand, surprised at first at the scar, but quickly going to hold it with the tenderness of someone who could only care.

“Alright,” was his only word, though, and he gave a small smile, getting up.

Rebecca’s smile became a little warmer as she started walking out of the Pokemon center, glancing around to be sure no one was even glancing their way as she led him to the path to her home. Her scarred hand gently squeezed his as the paper lanterns flickered on.

“Undella’s always pretty at sunset, don’t ya think?”

Her voice was soft, not wanting to catch the attention of anyone other than her trench coat-wearing companion.

“This place is a beach resort but it’s quiet enough at night that it’s easy to forget that.”

immortallifeform:

Hark smiled as she seemed to finally notice that he was there, and it only faded a bit as surprise took over.

He was not the first one. He was not the first mobian she was dealing with, as she didn’t even react the least bit surprised. She didn’t even change her tone, and invited him in.

Curious, but welcome.

So he simply smiled and nodded, filing everything as to be asked later. For now, he could use a little bit of down time.

He slumped in his chair, covered his face and let himself drift off, if only a bit.

It was another half an hour before Bianca told Rebecca to go home to get some rest, as such her shift promptly ended. The tired champion went back out to the waiting room and gently tapped the other’s shoulder, a small smile on her face as she adjusted her headphones.

“Time t’go, hun.”

She offered her scarred hand to him, intending to escort him straight to her home. The champion’s glare would be enough to dissuade any curious onlookers from approaching, exactly like she would do when she had Kin with her.

immortallifeform:

He watched. Watched as the champion disappeared and the line slowly advanced. He watched as she came back to the waiting room and sat a few chairs away, having him look beyond his hat to see her, smile on. Should he? Shouldn’t he?

“There’s tape in your hair,” he stated softly enough to not gather the attention of the line, but loud enough for her to hear. Hopefully, that would catch her attention.

“Huh- Oh…! Thank ya.”

She had to take a minute to process that but carefully took the tape out of her hair, rolled it up in a tiny ball and tossed it in the nearest trash can, quietly saying ‘Two points’ under her breath when she got it in the can.

“Thank ya much, I probably would’ve gotten home and not realized it- Wha…?”

Her voice was quiet when she spoke, not wanting to catch the attention of the slow-moving line. Then her brain registered what the other looked like when she glanced over and she blinked her bright amber eyes. She softly sighed before quietly speaking again.

“When my shift’s over, y’can come back t’my house. It’s quiet there and y’can get a bite to eat too.”

With that, she got up, gave the other a small smile and went back to help out the nurses.

immortallifeform:

No mobians. As far as Hark was concerned, there were no mobians around and, with a quick search through the Chaos Field, which was non-existent, he concluded that everything he knew didn’t exist here. That mobians were not the norm and instead these creatures, the Pokemon, he could only guess, were what prevailed.

And the furry bear along with the seemingly tri-brained creature with strange arms were only examples of that.

He could use a moment of…

He blinked at the shout, and looked up. Up to see the alternate Rebecca quickly set everyone straight, and the line form without a fuss. Ears quickly caught the whispers in the line as green eyes didn’t move, didn’t stray from the girl for a second. A champion, eh? Seemed so.

Letting a small, proud smile form, Hark simply grabbed the tip of his hat, pulling on it as he finally settled in the chair. Nervous? Not anymore. That had definitely reassured him.

Rebecca gave a tiny huff before going back through the doorway to check on the Pokemon she herself had to drop off. It had been a tiny little Horsea that washed up on her beachfront, likely injured by some litter a tourist threw in the water so they wouldn’t have to deal with it.

She gently patted some balm onto forming bruises with a cotton ball before wrapping it in a warm blanket so it could rest, the champion going to finish helping out the nurses.

Once Rebecca was done with that, she was exhausted, going out to the waiting room and plopping into a chair, not realizing she had a piece of medical tape stuck to her hair from one of the more playful nurses.

“Jeez… glad I decided to help out today… Bianca would’ve been swamped by those trainers.”

immortallifeform:

Bustling. That was the only way he could describe the activity inside the place he was going at, eyes quickly scanning the inside before resting on a sign that read Pokemon Center.

… Pokemon? What hell?

Seemed like he got his answer when he heard a man crying at a creature to get off of him. Looked like a really fuzzy bear, from his point of view, although it was probably heavier and a lot stronger as the man made no move to attempt to dislodge the creature.

Strange. But there was always weirder.

Yep, there was always weirder as he felt the look of someone on him, quickly turning to meet with amber eyes, also blinking in turn. He knew that face. He knew it very well. And while she might not be the one he knew, nor the alternate he’d recently found, it was still her.

What was an alternate of his daughter doing so far out of what he could call similar dimensions? Had she always lived here or had she…?

No, he knew his daughter well. She didn’t travel unless she had too, unless something called to her. So what…?

He stepped in, careful of the humans and colorful creatures alike before taking a seat, head down.

He’d wait. He’d wait for her to be done. Then he’d call out to her.

Once Rebecca had delivered her supplies, she brought out Goop to help lift several injured Pokemon onto stretchers before going back into the waiting room. She stood in the doorway, adjusted her headphones, took a deep breath and stunned the waiting trainers silent with what she said next.

“That’s enough! You are all full fledged trainers and adults! Act like it! Now, if you’re all done, you will line up and politely ask Miss Bianca about your Pokemon! Do I make myself clear or do I have to bring out the Ice Beam?”

Nearly everyone, sans one trainer sleeping in the back, sprung to attention and formed a line at the desk, several whispering about ‘Man, I never thought I’d see the Unova Champion here of all places’ and ‘She lives on the bay, numbnuts’.

immortallifeform:

Habits were hard to kill. And nothing proved that more than when Hark landed in, yes, a rather out of sight area, but still quickly took to the shade when he saw where he was.

A town. A rather deserted one, but a town nonetheless. And Hark was not ready to deal with anyone at the moment, certainly when he had no idea what type of people lived here. Seemed pretty serene, though, and from the buildings…

Hiding behind a building he called onto his powers to bring a trench coat to himself, along with a one armed bag and a fedora hat. The rest would be okay for now. He just needed to be able to move around for the moment. Once he’d found a safer, warmer place in which he knew he wouldn’t be stared at, then he could find something more elaborate. For the moment, though, it would do.

Slowly peeking out of his hiding place, he rounded the corner onto the main road, noticing that the building he’d been hiding against was the tallest and one of the most distinctive ones. The other was at the end of it, red roof obvious. And seeing that all the people – humans, he noticed – seemed to be there, might as well.

… He just simply hoped that he didn’t cause an uproar. He did not want a Superiors accident here.

The regional champion ran back and forth carrying several rolls of bandages, thread, and medical tape to and from the nurse’s station to each nurse, she was helping out the only way she knew how and the only way Bianca would let her help out.

“Eep!”

Rebecca gracefully dodged a trainer who was running towards their injured Pokemon only to get dragged back to the waiting room by security and sat on by a Munchlax. She looked out the window and blinked at the person in the trench coat before quickly going to deliver the armful of supplies.