hashtagafreakingghost | Third 👻 Story [Video/Action for Violet]

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Third 👻 Story [Video/Action for Violet]

[VIDEO / 3/12]

[At a little desk in a Violet City hotel, Ashley sits in front of a lot of...papers. Many papers, a notebook? Whatever's written on them can't be distinguished from the angle, but oh goodness, it looks like there sure is a lot of it! She looks a lot more put-together than the last time she was on video on the network, that's for sure. Probably helps that there's a Zubat poking up behind her shoulder, like he's holding on with his wings from behind, and it's a surprisingly peaceful image? Really, the girl who'd arrived here in hysterics is completely zen with giving a no-eyed bat a piggyback, something works well in this world.]

Hi. [...you don't have to-] I've, um, more or less... I've started training a lot, for my first gym battle, and it occurred to me that there are some Pokémon here that've got unconventional evolution styles. Since no one's an expert on everything and I'd have no idea where to start looking for one, I wanted to put this out to poll. I don't want to mess up and make it so they can't evolve right, especially since- Arwen, c'mere, don't do that-

[She bends down, dips off-screen (with a skitter from her Zubat) and then pops back up, with an excited little Eevee in her grasp, one who leans forward and sniffs at the camera.] Okay, sure, girl. Since I've heard Eevee have a lot of forms.

[A small Vee! as Ashley pulls the girl away. The view moves from Eevee-nose to one of her notes, one that appears to be a small...not-good doodle of an Eevee, with multiple arrows. ...It honestly looks like one for each type, um. Only one has a doodle at the end, which is mostly just a not-good Eevee with ribbons for its ears: Ashley's rendition of a Sylveon, with a little scribble of + puffs??.] I had a conversation with someone on how to get a Sylveon, but I'm not sure on the specifics- or how many forms Eevee has, or what causes them to evolve into each of them!

[Her finger rubs against the PokéGear's lens for a brief moment, leaving a faint print as she sets it back hastily so it's pointed back at her face. Her Eevee has since grown bored and hopped off, it appears.]

I don't want to...to train her without knowing what strategies to use. At least for evolution. And then I realized I don't know anything about the rest of mine either.

[What a god awful long preamble, Ash, do you ever shut up, God-
Looking several shades of awkward now that she's been talking for...awhile, she clears her throat and shifts her shoulders, meaning her Zubat almost falls off.]

S-so! Besides Eevee's...everything. I made up a list of my Pokémon, and, if any of them have special conditions or something besides simple training to help them evolve to their next form!

[And now the view's back to her notes, but a different set- it is indeed her roster, just a list of names; Litwick, Espurr, Happiny, Stantler, Zubat and so on. Not a very long list of species, thankfully.] I already know about Espurr's unique case, but for the rest I'm clueless, and the handbook didn't mention hardly anything about evolution.

[...this is because she wants to study isn't it, jesus christ ashley really]

Any information or just tips for evolution training would be very appreciated. Thanks for your time!

[ACTION FOR VIOLET / FRONTDATED TO 3/13]

[Training. Holy heck has this girl been training a lot. Towards the start of the day, you'll catch her with her Pokémon (Litwick, Luxio, Espurr, Zubat, Munna, and a very shy Snorunt) out of their balls, either on her way to or at Sprout Tower. ...Which is a fun place to be. Isn't it. All those freaking ghosts, and-

Naw, she's calm, she's cool. Feel free to run into her during this point, where she's likely training her Luxio or her shaking Snorunt, or maybe her Zubat.

...There is one point in the day, however.

Toward the end, when most of her Pokémon are all in their balls, save for her Zubat who's piggybacking on her shoulders.

Where this horrible shriek just echoes throughout the Tower, and holy crap she sure can run, can't she, down from the second floor and out the damn door, what the heck is she even running from-

Whatever it is, she's very distressed! Naturally. Because she wouldn't be Ashley if she wasn't.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Okay, so using video might be a form of apology for some of their last conversation. That aside, Karkat's also in his hotel room, his Espurr once more monopolizing his lap. The yellow-tipped ears of a Whismur are also occasionally visible in the background.]

This whole evolution thing is bullshit. Like I know it's a video game, but how the fuck is anyone supposed to keep track of all of it? Has anyone sent you a guide or anything like that?

[H-hi, Karkat... A little awkward wave and half-smile. Her Zubat skitters quietly in greeting.]

Nope. I mean, I've gotten a lot of tips, one guy walked me through all of Eevee's evolutions, and strategies for them, but I don't know about the distinctions between what needs a stone and what needs experience and what needs friendship and why some have different forms? This is why I'm just taking notes.

[Oh right, greetings, people do those. Except he probably would have skipped one when using text because fuck it. Time to move on.]

Wait, back the fuck up. Friendship? Some of these assholes evolve because of friendship?

[If he'd heard about this before, he'd probably stricken it from his memory as being too bulge rottingly stupid to possibly be true.]

That's what I hear. Apparently like this guy. [Raises one shoulder slightly, where her Zubat's snuggled.] Be good friends, level up.

[... Can you just. Give him a minute. Fuck, it's Sgrub all over again.]

Discover the true meaning of this human emotion called friendship, gain all the levels. Yeah, okay.

Let me know how that goes.

[:? Oh poor Karkat...]

Yeeah, that's gotta be rough for you... If it helps, I think you're grasping it pretty well?

[He snorts.]

Yeah, I've got the friendship angle fucking covered.

[S l i g h t pause.]

You do, too.

[And now we're going to pretend this moment never happened.]

So how close is your winged squeakbeast to evolving?

[A flickering smile. Thanks Karkat.]

Winged squeak... Oh, you mean Bram? [A skitter from the Zubat.] I don't know really. I don't know what level he evolves at. I probably should've asked someone that, huh? It isn't until he evolves once that I'll have to worry about the friendship aspect. ...But he kind of adores me, so...

[Nuzzle. Nuzzle Nuzzle.]

Edited 2016-03-15 07:45 (UTC)

[... he's kind of maybe smiling at them a little.]

You should probably look into that, yeah. You're gonna want to be prepared.

How big is he going to get?

[Ashley appears a tad awkward with her bat, but she's trying.]

How big? Um... I actually have no idea? He's like, two feet now? He hatched kind of small but grew pretty quick. I hope not too much bigger- but...he is my flyer... I don't know.

[... Huh.]

Well, it's a game, so physics shouldn't matter too much.

[Not that he's entirely sure what he's reassuring her about, but anyway.]

It's still fucking weird that there isn't a guide somewhere. I mean, Rose wrote the one we had, but it was still there. Or maybe someone's going to write one for this universe and we'd have to find some time bullshit exploit to access it now?

There's the handbook, but that's apparently barely anything in it, compared to all that we don't know! ...Maybe it's 'cause... I don't know, some people think of it as a game, but not everyone.

... It's literally a fucking video game on multiple iterations of Earth, and there are still people who don't think of it as a game.

[Let's just let this statement stand for a second.]

[Shrugs!! Bram holds tighter.] I don't know! I just- maybe it's people who've gotten used to living here? It's the only thing I can think of, just people who accept it as reality but not in a video game way?

Ohmygosh, this barely makes sense to me, I'm just grasping at straws.

[... Are they not the same thing. All right, no, maybe Ashley shouldn't be having this conversation with a Homestuck.

Karkat shrugs and glances at the Zubat.]

Maybe it's their way of coping.

[TIME TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT.]

So you named him Bram?

[Well, Karkat, not all of us are from a video game! ~~hahaha~~]

Uh, yeah. It's after- how much human literature do you know? Have you heard of Dracula?

[... Oh, that one clicks.]

You mean the one with, fuck. Vampires, right?

That one! Yes, well, the author of it is Bram Stoker, and bats and vampires go together hand-in-hand, so I figured it was natural.

[Bats and vampires. Had Kanaya or Rose mentioned that? God, when is the last time he even talked to one of them and not about—ugh. Moving along.]

Are all your Pokémon named after human authors or just him?

Most all of them! Two are named after characters from books, and one- ...well, I couldn't resist. I named her after a popular children's movie character.

... You're really serious about writing, aren't you?

[A sudden blink. That's not the question Ashley was expecting. She nods, slowly.] It's...been what I've wanted to do since I was young. I'm- hell, I'm...writing a short story I want to find a way to publish here.

[He sees that surprise. He's not sure what to do about it, but he sees it.]

What genre?

[...]

Uh.

[She smiles, taut, as if her lips are a tightrope pulled and pulled- but refusing to snap.]

Gothic horror.

[... Oh. Wow. Fuck.]

Are you, uh. Is it going all right?

[Is she okay with writing that?]

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