Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring.
The first thing that comes across is the rustling of grass, and beneath it, slightly sodden footsteps.
“I hadn't intended to call back so soon, but I encountered Mr. Volo again as I was passing the Solaceon Ruins, and our conversation is… bothering me.” Says the caller. A step makes a particularly muddy-sounding squelch, and he makes a disgusted noise before continuing the thought, “There was no sign of any sales pitch, even now that we mostly share a language. He challenged me to a battle, and I got the distinct impression that it was because I was so enthusiastic about it last time. It felt like when a commuting trainer would act sweet to try to get away with something, and now that I have some frame of reference for what his words were, they didn’t match his body language. It’s… disturbing.”
There’s a pause as vines rustle, distinct from whatever plant life is being waded through, and once whatever he’s seeing processes, Ingo says, “Tangrowth, put it down.”
A sad-sounding croon follows the command.
“No, this is non-negotiable.”
The vines move again, and a frightened squeak rings out. Something crashes through the long grass and quickly grows distant.
“Apologies,” He sighs to the receiver, “You know how she is.”
Nearby, Tangrowth rustles something on the level of a proud snickering.
“What I was trying to say is that, once Volo realized we could understand one another, he immediately began questioning me. Where I was from, how I arrived in Hisui, why I was assisting with the Pokedex and how I was so at ease training Pokemon. I must sound paranoid, because it all seems very reasonable, but there was something in the way he pursued the information that I couldn’t help but find off-putting.”
The sound of soggy footsteps ends, the ground transitioning into something slightly more solid.
“Perhaps I’ll look back on this and think myself uncharitable, but it helps to say it out loud. Regardless, we’re departing now. Wherever you are, stay safe; I’ll endeavor to do the same.”
---
Species: Shellos & Gastrodon
Location: Sandgem Flats, Obsidian Fieldlands
What I know: Water type and water/ground type, respectively. Shellos evolves into Gastrodon when trained to a high enough threshold. They have two forms depending on where they come from, but I don’t know the specifics; the ones I saw were pink and white, and pink and brown. These Pokemon are invertebrates, and studies in the wild have proven that if they lose a portion of their body, it will regrow. It’s thought that they once had a shell in ancient times, but it seems this isn’t quite ancient enough to count. Their most common abilities are Sticky Hold and Storm Drain.
Notes: They were remarkably calm when I approached them. When a nearby Staravia began targeting one of the Shellos on the fringes of their rout, however, they responded immediately with Water Pulse and Earth Power. The Shellos that had been attacked secreted some sort of purple… ooze? I can’t say any more for that, but I had a spare potion jar, so I collected a sample for Professor Laventon to examine if he so chooses. Personally, I think I've seen plenty.
Species: Mime Jr. & Mr. Mime (Kantonian variant)
Location: Sandgem Flats, Obsidian Fieldlands
What I know: Psychic/fairy type. Mime Jr. evolves into Mr. Mime upon learning Mimic. Their most common abilities are Soundproof and Filter. There’s another form of Mr. Mime native to Galar that evolves into the Ice/psychic Mr. Rime, but this form isn’t known to have any further evolution. I believe it’s one of the few fairy types native to the Sinnoh region, alongside the Clefairy and Marill lines.
Notes: Mime Jr. will flee if they notice a human, but Mr. Mime reacts slightly differently from any other Pokemon I’ve observed. Rather than attacking or trying to run away, they’ll erect a psychic barrier to prevent anything from attacking them. Unlike the attack Barrier, this seems to intercept any and all physical contact, but special attacks were unaffected. Could it utilize Light Screen the same way?
Species: Wormadam (Plant Cloak)
Location: Sandgem Flats, Obsidian Fieldlands
What I know: Bug type, but the secondary typing is variable. Depending on its form, it will be one of grass, ground or steel, corresponding to the Plant, Sandy and Trash Cloaks worn prior to evolution. It’s been theorized that there are even more variants out there, yet unidentified, as Burmy have a habit of using anything in their environment to form a cloak. They evolve from female Burmy, and are the counterpart to Mothim. Regardless of their typing, their most common ability is Anticipation.
Notes: I encountered it by accident when Gligar flew into a tree for berries. This isn’t terribly surprising, since I’ve encountered Burmy in similar fashion, but is a bit odd that a Burmy in this environment would evolve into a Plant Cloak Wormadam. That said, it’s entirely possible that it moved this way from farther inland.
Species: Alakazam (Alpha)
Location: Sandgem Flats, Obsidian Fieldlands
What I know: Psychic type. It evolves first from Abra with training, then Kadabra upon being traded; I’m unsure how they evolve in the wild. They’re said to be among the most intelligent Pokemon in the world, with perfect recall and incredible psychic powers. When they focus on the world around them, they can push their senses to the furthest limits, and sometimes past that, to the extent of precognition. Their most common abilities are Synchronize and Inner Focus. Under the right circumstance, this is a species capable of Mega Evolution.
Notes: On a hunch, I asked Kadabra to stay out with me while I approached the Alakazam. As usual, my presence seemed to make it irrationally angry, but as Tangrowth did some time ago, Kadabra spoke to the alpha and calmed it down. It’s difficult to interpret their psychic visions, but what Kadabra relayed seemed to imply that the alpha Alakazam, at least, had a horrible shock upon seeing me, making it react on instinct. It seems my hypothesis may be a valid one after all.
---
A new picture is added to Hisui. A copy is made and added to Pokemon.
It’s a bright day, with a vibrant blue sky reflecting in the water. The view is penned in by high cliffs on all visible sides, and in the far distance lies the silhouette of Mount Coronet.
The focal point of this image is an island. It’s eerily similar to the one that had been captured from above in the Crimson Mirelands: it’s small, directly in the lake’s center, and bears what seems to be the mouth of a cave. In front of it is a Gyarados, its head and a portion of its serpentine body cresting above the water as it’s caught swimming.
This photograph is followed by half a dozen more over the next minute. The cameraman hasn’t moved, but the camera itself has panned up to a drastic degree, where the Gyarados has taken to the sky instead of the waves. Its body undulates the exact same way it would move through the water, captured in the rapid-fire snapshots just as well as any video would manage. Another handful of photos are taken over the next few minutes, but not so frantically as that initial, excited burst. The last of the series shows the Gyarados dipping back into the lake.
...it’s not truly the final image, but it is the last with such dignity.
---
[A picture of a human hand just barely wrapped around an incredibly large Gligar’s tail. The Gligar is pulling forward, toward a body of water and, more specifically, the distinct orange shape of a Magikarp. It doesn’t seem to care about the Gyarados half out of frame.]
Words cannot describe how hard he fought me on this.
---
The recording starts up in the morning, the camera angled down a set of stairs. As its operator fiddles with it, a pair of people pass by and a door closes behind them; when they move into view, both are dressed in red with handmade straw hats.
“More people have arrived in Jubilife Village since the last time I visited,” Says the cameraman, setting the frame straight to look down a familiar lane. “And it occurred to me that this is an opportunity to document it before it grows into Jubilife City. I wish I’d thought to explore it more thoroughly the last time I was here, but I suppose my haphazard chasing after Abra will have to suffice.”
The camera pans right and then left, showing off what appears to be some sort of thoroughfare. “Floaro Avenue is what’s developed the most since I saw it last. The two nearest buildings, The Wallflower and Craftworks, have been occupied since before I arrived here, and the general store across the way is the same.”
He starts to the left, visibly raising a hand to greet the person manning the shop.
“I believe the woman who started the hair dresser was already a member of the community, and simply arranged her home to accommodate clients. It’s Miss Anthe and Mr. Dagero who have only recently moved in and established their own businesses, though the demand for photography does seem to be… low.” Slowly and with a consistent motion, the camera pans over a shop laden with cloth and a dressed dummy out front; a woman sits inside working on something, and glances up at the noise, but seems to determine that it’s not worth the distraction.
At the end of this road, the camera operator turns around to put his back to the gate, documenting a building advertising the latest in photographic technology. The dissonance between the antiquated style and the quality that the recording device captures is stark. On the lane’s other side, the woman from the previous Jubilife recording stares him down. He turns away, unbothered, and crosses a simple wooden bridge.
“I didn’t think to record the pastures at all last time, but fortunately, it seems they’ve changed very little.” As he passes a paddock, a Bibarel comes lumbering over and stands on its hind legs, bracing its front against the fence to look at the man. He reaches out to ruffle the fur on its head, and is promptly delayed by the Luxray charging over and demanding the same treatment. By the third time this happens-- a Staraptor coasting down to perch on the nearest post-- he’s forced to abandon the recording device and pay the three his full attention.
When he’s allowed to continue on, there isn’t much else to see: just the backs of houses and open space.
He meanders down to another gate, its green roofing and readied alarm bell exactly as they’d been last time-- but on this occasion, he stops to film down this main road, and a large brick building becomes visible at the village’s head. Beyond it-- seemingly inescapable by this point-- the mountain looms.
“The building ahead is Galaxy Hall, the Galaxy Team’s base of operations. It’s where I report my findings to Captain Cyllene and work with Professor Laventon. As I could best be described as a freelancer, it’s also where I’m allowed to rest on those occasions I stay the night in Jubilife.” Ingo explains, and then turns to continue on.
He starts up the field, and must be focused on where he’s going, because he doesn’t notice something that the camera picks up: a blue haired woman across the farm, who takes one look in his direction and takes off running into the village itself. With that unseen exception, the walk across the farmland is without note and exactly as it had been the last time he’d passed through-- with an exception for the crops themselves, which are both different and in a newer stage of growth.
This time, instead of getting distracted by an Abra after crossing the bridge, he meanders toward a red-roofed building with what’s recognizably a battlefield marked at its front. An equally red-haired woman pauses what she’d been doing as she notices him and calls over.
“Truly?” He says, and then remembers to switch languages to respond. She gives him an amused look and waves him off. There’s a new energy as he hurries through, excitedly muttering to the camera, “She asked to battle! I don’t want to rush the rest of this tour, but it’s not right to cause a delay, either.”
The buildings he’d first panned over, the Craftworks and Wallflower, pass by at a slightly faster clip than the others, until he lands in front of the grand brick building.
It’s huge compared to the rest of the village, four stories tall and studded with evenly-placed windows. Either end of it is topped in a massive facsimile of a Magikarp, and a steel Galarian Weezing belches smoke from its smokestacks, coming from somewhere inside. Above the door is a complicated sigil rendered in yellow, inlaid in some dark material. As he takes the time to record the hall, several people enter and exit.
“That’s Jubilife Village as of today,” He announces. “I’ve never seen it in modern times, but once I get home, I think I’d like to. It would be interesting to see what, if anything, stands the test of time. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
The camera pivots noticeably toward the red-roofed building before the recording switches off.
---
[A picture of seemingly-unrelated items laid out neatly over a bed. Included are a new-looking book, its cover patterned with blue diamonds and bound with cord, a fresh pen and tightly-corked jar of ink, a number of charcoal sticks, and loose paper. There are also empty jars and blank labels, leeks, some kind of dark stone and an unrecognizable yellow berry. Other odds and ends are lined up, but not as noteworthy.]
Cyllene gave me a book to store the final drafts of my Pokedex entries, and with the bonus from the sheer amount of research I brought back, I was able to stock up on supplies. The only problem is that I’m having a difficult time packing everything up.
I have a little bit of money left over. With a tailor in town, I had thought to see if she could repair my coat, but I don’t think I will; not if it means leaving the village without it.