Video 6: Show Me the Way to Go Home (Action for Azalea)

[justanexpression]

[Jack turns the feed on but doesn’t say anything right away, preoccupied with settling the pokemon he’s surrounded by this time. A Togepi sits in his lap, with a Meowth curled into a ball against his leg on one side, and a Buneary and Smeargle snuggled together on the other. All four of them look positively depressed and Jack, for once, doesn’t seem much better.

Spot the Swablu is on Jack’s shoulder as usual, doing her best to groom him all better and looking somewhat distressed herself that it’s not working.]

So... these guys showed up yesterday. I never actually got to meet them in person before, but the names are all right, and they seem to recognize me...

[The Meowth glances up when he pets her head but then returns to her ball.]

I guess this means they’re both really gone, now? That’s usually what it means when your friends’ pokemon suddenly show up in your computer, right?

[He runs a hand through his hair, accidentally undoing Spot’s work and making her whistle in frustration before pecking his fingers out of the way to start over. It gets him to smile, at least.]

Have you ever been surprised that you ended up missing someone you never thought you would?

Comments

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[justanexpression]

[It's... strange. Definitely strange. He's not used to physical contact so much. The few people who could actually see and touch him generally weren't the touchy-feely sort to begin with, unless you count Tooth's obsession with his teeth, which he doesn't.

Akito's position makes the scattered pokemon readjust their positions, although the end up becoming interested in Akito's team before they can curl back up.]

Does that really count even if they're gone?

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[akito]

Where have they gone? Home? [ he lets out a small laugh ] That doesn't mean they're gone. They're still here where it counts. And you know that it's just good-bye for a little while, not good-bye forever.

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[justanexpression]

Only if I go home, too.

[And while that generally seems a pretty certain thing someday... he's not entirely sure he wants to, not anymore.]

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[akito]

Or if they come back. Which is entirely possible, if they've already been here before!

[ which makes him feel as though he likely won't run across anyone from his world here, but the thought doesn't bother him as deeply as it would have before. ]

Either way, you still care about them, and they still care about you, ne? And it's okay to miss the people you care about, but it's not okay to stay sad about it for very long!

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[justanexpression]

Do people actually come back? [He's never heard of that before. Not that he thinks Tooth or Bunny should come back, exactly. They'd both really not liked it here so much. If it's hard for him to be grounded, he can only imagine how much worse it was for Tooth.]

Okay, yeah, you're right. You win. Happy?

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[akito]

I don't see why they wouldn't, ne?

[ he still doesn't move, as he's comfortable enough where he is. he hasn't had a chance to hug someone since long before he woke up in New Bark. ]

Are you happy?

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[justanexpression]

[He rolls his eyes, but it's fond.]

Getting there. [He nudges at Akito.] Sit up and introduce me to your pack. Where'd you get so many?

[Maybe some of them could help cheer up Tooth and Bunny's teams, too.]

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[akito]

[ He sits up, scootching so that there is a respectable amount of space between them now, and claps his hands together once, excited, before calling his team over with a quick whistle. ]

This is A-T, she's my starting Pokémon. And then there's Mikura, we caught him our second day here as a Sentret! And this is Kushiro - I got him the same time I got Spitfire, our Litwick, and they hatched on the same day as well. Spitfire is with our eggs right now, keeping them warm so they hatch more quickly! Nessie and Hanako-chan are keeping him company - they're our Lapras and Petilil.

You've already met Regalia, ne? He's our Jolteon! Agito got him as an egg, since we kept arguing about what kind of evolution we liked best for an Eevee. And then this is Akira, he's our Riolu! And then you already know Shark- [ at the mention of his name, the Gible is quick to leap up and assault them both with enthusiastic licks, much like an excited puppy, to which Akito merely laughs and pushes him away with a firm hand. ]

Then there's Atmosphere! He evolved into Togetic recently. He's also a shiny Pokémon!

We hatched all of them except for Miku-Miku and A-T.

What about you? Introduce me to your friends!

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[justanexpression]

[He remembers A-T from the very first time he talked to Akito, and yes, he definitely remembers Shark, laughing even as he leans away to avoid the sliming.]

Sure, not that there's half as many. Uh, you know Spot.

[And now that Jack's feeling a bit better, she'll happily flutter over to Akito, grooming him cheerfully in greeting.

Meanwhile, Haroom the Togepi has managed to climb out of Jack's lap to look curiously at the Togetic. He's the wrong color!]

These guys were all Tooth's and Bunny's. I think it was only them, but if there were any others, they didn't show up here. That's... that's Haroom, there. And, um...

[He's still not good with their names, exactly, but he's doing his best.]

Rashmi, and this's Br'er and Tulane.

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[akito]

[ Akito settles in comfortably, scratching Spot's chest as she grooms him. Atmos returns the curious look he's receiving; hovers down closer to the earth-bound Togepi and lets out a chirp in greeting. ]

Ah, so Bunny left? I guess he won't be needing a business loan, then.

[ He turns his attention back to the Pokémon he's being introduced to. ] But it's good to meet you! Jack is a good person to be with until you are reunited with your first trainers.

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[justanexpression]

[Haroom's little arms wave wildly. Atmos is so BIG!]

Business loan? Don't think I heard about that.

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[akito]

[ Atmos will perch on Jack's head, walking in small circles and twittering at Haroom in amusement. ]

He likes to paint and do art, ne? So I suggested he customize people's Pokéballs for them! He didn't have any money though, and I have lots, so I was going to loan him some to get started.

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[justanexpression]

Huh. That's actually-

[! Oh no he won't! That's HER boy and HER hard work he's ruining! Spot makes quite the commotion as she takes off from Akito's shoulder to chase Atmos off before he COMPLETELY ruins Jack's hair.

Jack just freezes in surprise that his head has apparently become prime real estate.]

Um...

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[akito]

[ Akito jolts in surprise, and begins tidying up his hair from where Spot messed it up. He finds the situation amusing, however, and giggles as Atmos floats away, startled, but not irritated, and simply perches on Akito's head instead. ]

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[justanexpression]

[Jack just sighs as Spot settles in to fix the 'damage' twittering to herself about CONSTANT VIGILANCE and boys being so messy.]

So I guess she does that now.

Hey, you mind if we leave a little late today so I can get these guys settled in first?

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[akito]

I don't mind! Take all the time that you all need.