leftinbasketforfbi | 1st Genius α Video/Action for New Bark Ω

[It takes him a bit to figure out how the hell to start the feed. When he finally does, all PokéConnect is treated to the sight of a deceptively calm man dressed in purple pants and a white shirt tied with a gray obi, the traditional psychic’s outfit. An Absol keeps pacing behind him, as if expecting him to fall over at any moment and preparing itself to catch him. Honestly, that’s because it is, since its new Trainer has had a massive panic attack that caused him to pass out once already, and Absol can sense that there will be more to come. This is going to be a long partnership.]

Morgan, if this is a prank, alright. You got me. You win the war.

[The man holds up his hands in defeat, still unnaturally calm.]

I don’t know how you did it, but you can stop now. I get it. You can make the Pokémon go away. Once again, I have no idea how you did it…

[His throat gets tight. He struggles to keep his breathing even.

Please, Morgan. Please oh please make this stop.]

But you can stop it now. I have a lot of work to do, and giving me strange clothes, asking a woman to pretend to be my mother, and trying to make me doubt my own sanity is not helping.

[Please let this be a prank. Please say he’s not completely insane.]

And you can turn off the music while you're at it.

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It's the most obvious small thing I can think of.

[She definitely does, but the effort is appreciated and he'll like her a lot once he's not convinced she's a hallucination.]

Wait, there are psychic--no, no, I'm not going to think about that. Not going to think about that. [He has enough to process already. ;.; ]

Sound waves need a source. Sound never just appears on its own.

[Horse apples. She thought he might have already known about that detail. Okay, shift away from that subject for now...]

Of course. And these melodies aren't exactly something that can be chalked up to the wind. I mean, sure, there are some Pokemon that have musical abilities, but they aren't constantly using them, and they don't exist on every Route in the world.

[The unfortunate fact of the matter is that she gave up on solving this particular issue a long time ago, so trying to discuss it at length is proving difficult. She can't even think of a decent hypothesis to throw at him. Still, she has to try, even if what she comes up with sounds completely stupid.]

I suppose... there could be some Pokemon we haven't seen yet, who stay out of sight, and who live in different places, making those noises. It could be this world's equivalent of chirping crickets.

[She pauses a brief moment after she says that, thinking of what she just said, and then slaps her palm against her forehead. That was the best she could come up with?

That sounded completely absurd, didn't it?

[Well, at least she's managed something only one other person has so far.

Reid laughs. It's a small, breathy, gentle laugh, but it's a real one.] No, no, that made sense.

[His hands are shaking. He laces them together, giving her a strained smile.] Thank you. I--thanks for trying. [He recognizes her efforts, and he really does appreciate them, even though he's deeply upset right now.]

[Well, that's something, at least. A little bit of laughter can lighten the mood considerably... and it's extremely obvious that's something this poor guy needs.]

No problem. If I managed to help, even a little, it was more than worth the effort.

[She offers him a gentle smile, feeling a little more hopeful for the new arrival now.] I'm Twilight, by the way. What's your name?

[Twilight? Odd name, but not odd to the point of unreality. He smiles; his hands keep fidgeting out of sheer nervousness and anxiety, but at least he's coherent and not about to start screaming into the 'Gear.]

Spencer. Or Reid, if you like.

[You should be hopeful, Twilight. It may not seem like it, but Reid is one of the most mentally resilient people you'll ever know.]

You, um, you've been here for a while?

Nice to meet you, Spencer.

[That's going to be a very, very valuable trait for him during his stay.]

Several months. Long enough to be able to answer most of the questions about this world that new arrivals want answered.

Aside from "how did we get here" and "how do we get home", that is...

[Yeah, it's been a pretty good trait to have so far.]

New arrivals? [His voice seems distant. He knows he's crazy by now. He knows the implications. It still--even though he has no guarantee they were real, he doesn't want to break down in front of any of these people, so on the surface he's asking questions but he'll still have a complete freak out later.]

People come here often?

[And to think, Twilight's under the impression that she's actually managed to head off that very reaction. So naive...]

About every couple weeks or so, there are a few new appearances in New Bark Town, where you are now. It's actually remarkably timely.

You may be able to find a few others who are new to Johto not too far from you, in fact. Sticking together might not be a bad idea.

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