Third 👻 Story [Video/Action for Violet]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[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.]

Comments

[Video]

[crouching_sin]

Litwick evolves with experience, and then with a Dusk Stone. Happiny evolves with friendship, I think. Stantler doesn't evolve at all. Zubat evolves with experience, and then friendship. Munna evolves with a Moon Stone. Snorunt evolves either with experience into Glalie or with a Dawn Stone into Frostlass if female. The rest simply evolve with experience.

Other than Eevee's case, but you said you know about that already.

[Video]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[Wow that's a lot, okay, she's taking notes, she's definitely taking notes-]

Oh! Wait wait wait, first of all. Do you mind if I ask some follow-up questions? Eevee's- Eevee's one I'm aware of but I have no idea what any of it means or how to put it into practice.

[Video]

[crouching_sin]

Go ahead.

[A Castform floats up, and peers into the camera.]

... Not now, Stribog.

video; | i feel like i should apologize well in advance

[aufsassig]

...So really what you're saying is, you don't want to start planning out their futures until you know how to mold 'em into being most useful to you.

[Thank you, "Dietrich", nobody asked you, you pleasantly-smiling asshole.]

I mean, there's something to that, sure. It's not like you can just throw them out and start over if they don't go the way you want them to the first time, right?

video;

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[For a second, Ashley just stares in surprise with those damn big doe-eyes.]

Wh- what...? No, no oh my God, I never said anything like that, I just- I want to know what options there are s-so- so they don't miss out on something and I r-raise them wrong!

video;

[aufsassig]

Oh, right, I get it. So it's more like a parent just not wanting their kid to be a failure, then?

[That is actually not what was said at all either, but you know what, Schuldig, you do you.]

audio;

[crimsonchin]

Huh. You got your hands on Happiny, too, then...

[ Small world. ]

Mine's at level 25. Still hasn't evolved yet, though...I would've thought it would have changed by now, but, I suppose not. I've heard it needs some kind of stone. And I don't have any of the other ones, Eevee aside, so, I'm afraid I won't be much help there.

Stantler is that deer with the antlers that make you dizzy, isn't it? I'm on the lookout for that one now in the ruins...

audio;

[hashtagafreakingghost]

Oh... Asuka, hi. [It's been awhile.] Yeah, uh, I got Louise - she's my Happiny - I got her from...a friend, being nice. And I didn't really catch Fitzgerald myself either, I traded for him, so...I can't help with location...

[Cough.] Buuut, uh, a stone? I haven't heard of that, like...one of the Evolutionary Stones? Do you know which one?

[crimsonchin]

Hm. They're not much for fighting, at least, not at first. But I've started to warm up to having her around. She's learned not to run around at my feet anymore...

[ And she carries her around sometimes, but, no one has to know that. ]

I believe it works a little differently. From my understanding, you just show an Evolutionary Stone to a Pokemon and that's enough to make it change. But Happiny needs to hold the stone while levelling up before it evolves...pretty sure it's an Oval Stone. Looks kind of like an egg. ...Makes sense, considering how much it seems to love rocks that are egg-shaped. Must be like looking for sand in the desert...

video

[islandshore]

[And in swoops the resident Pokénerd to glance over that roster. He's at a point where he doesn't spend nearly as much time training his personal roster; hard to stay excited about that after six years, but hey, it's a good time to dish out his personal experiences.

So, hmm, where to start...

Squinting, he takes a moment to peruse the list before formulating his reply.]

Well, first of all, what you choose for your Eevee's gonna make a huge difference in how you train it. If you go for one of the stone evolutions, you'll want to evolve ASAP. Unlike most Pokémon that evolve with stones, they don't stop learning moves.

But that's if. You already mentioned Sylveon, and they're a pretty reliable fairy type. Decently bulky, does a serious number on dragons.

But besides Sylveon, there's Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon-- all pretty self-explanatory as types go. Flareon's more of a physical attacker. Jolteon's fast but frail, and Vaporeon's on the slow side, but it makes up for it with its defenses and decent attack power. All three of them evolve from elemental stones-- Fire, Thunder, and Water in this case.

[And yes, he's focusing on strength/effectiveness here. The loser's always been rather competitive with battles, and he's spent way too long thinking this over.]

Other than those guys, there's Leafeon, Glaceon, Umbreon, and Espeon. Haven't got a lot of experience with the former two, but Umbreon's good for trickier tactics. Status inflictions, stalling... And Espeon's kind of like Jolteon in that it's a glass cannon. Those two evolve based on happiness and the time of day-- so at night, you'll get an Umbreon and in the day, you'll get an Espeon.

[He'll take a pause, because he realizes that's a lot to take in.]

Anyway, I know I kinda rambled a little, but I'm happy to clarify things if you need it. I've worked with a few different forms of Eevee,

video

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[...Well, Riku may notice as he's talking that Ashley's picked up her pen and is attentively taking notes. Type, evolution, advantages and disadvantages- everything. She nods, scribbles. Nods, scribbles. Lips pursed, small strands of hair falling to her face.

When she's sure he's done, she looks up.] I... wow. Thank you, that is so helpful! All of that about the different types, and- well, I was pretty excited about Sylveon, and Arwen seems pretty wedded to the idea of becoming one, but they all sound so cool! And I could probably make a whole team of six, and if they're all as cute as Sylveon-

[You've made her life, Riku. She flushes a little.]

I guess I'm just as excited. Ever since I first heard about Eevee, I've wanted to raise a whole bunch of them.

video

[islandshore]

[Dang, talk about attentive! Her reaction brings a small smile to his face. He can certainly appreciate the enthusiasm; he was in a similar boat when he was new... albeit more of an egotistical prick. Thank goodness he's left those days behind.]

Hey, that's the great part about Eevees. They're so flexible that there's incentive to train more than one. Heck, I've seen people specialize in breeding them before, which should say a lot.

I'd say if Arwen's game for being a Sylveon, then stick with it! Fairy's one of those types that's so new, some people still don't know how to deal with it. And I'm serious: there wasn't even a fairy type until about a year and a half ago.

But the cool part's that you could build up a team of Eevee forms, and chances are it'd be pretty balanced. You could use a Sylveon to deal with an Umbreon's fighting type weakness, Espeon to deal with Sylveon's poison weakness, Flareon to deal with steel. Vaporeon balances out Leafeon's ice and fire weaknesses...

Heh, I probably sound like a huge nerd right now, don't I? Sorry-- just been a while since I got to talk strategy.

video;

[pipers_son]

[Joker is laughing a little as he clicks on his Gear, but it's not a malicious one. He's just a little amused at the range of responses he's seen.]

Fortunately for yerself, it seems like you've got quite a couple a the smart ones who've responded!

But sometimes the answers end up just givin' ya more questions, huh?

video;

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[Hey there, new face, just give her a moment to complain.]

How is there so much that's just answered with confused shrugs?! From even natives!

video;

[pipers_son]

Well... I can't tell ya what's goin' on with the natives, sorry. But consider this:

Most a the folks who suddenly end up here, like you and me, what're the chances they're gonna be super intellectual types with degrees and everythin'?

[Video]

[quadrangle]

[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?

[Video]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[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.

[Action]

[charcoalfeather]

[A couple weeks time spent training in Sprout Tower, in and out, had gotten Rakka to a point where she felt almost capable as a trainer. Her pokemon were stronger, and having fun, too. In any sense, she could take some pride in adapting to this world.

Towards the evening, she was just milling around the ground floor with Kuki, Freza, and the rest of her gang when she heard... screaming? Heaven knows how Rakka prevents herself from getting trampled as this strangely familiar redhead rushed past and oh hey is that Ashley?]

...Ashley?

[Uh.... uh. Running after her then? This is what she should do now, right?]

A-Ashley! Ashleeey!

[Action]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[The screaming continues though she's also followed by a squeaking, crying Zubat. Is... Is that what she's running from?]

action;

[melodlies]

[The scream reaches Kaori who has been wandering around the Sprout Tower with her Pokémon as well. The story is, a few days ago she has seen one whose head reminded her of an eighth note and there's simply no way she would give up on catching it. Now, she's standing in front of it, about to challenge it to a battle...when Ashley runs at full speed just next to her. She's in a great hurry, which makes Kaori wonder if she shouldn't follow her.]

I'll catch you next time!

[Pointing her finger at the Pokémon she runs away shortly, hoping to catch up with Ashley eventually. A little while later she hears another scream and looks behind her shoulder—was that the bird shrieking the same way as...?]

Ashleyyyy!!

[The distance between them isn't that big, when she decides to shout at the top of her lungs.]

Waaaaaait! What's wrong?!

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[Ashley isn't that great at running fast, so don't worry, Kaori, you'll be able to catch up pretty easily! How lucky for you. Unfortunately, when she turns, she doesn't stop, rather jumping in fear.]

It won't leave me alone, I-- waaah!! [...And there she goes, down to the floor.] Oww...

[VIDEO]

[invigorating]

I know a lot of Pokémon evolve because they're happy and they love their trainer! So if you're not sure, that's probably a good place to start!

[thanks, nowi, you're so helpful]

Zubat's one of them! It evolves into Golbat once it's a high enough level and then into Crobat when it's really, really happy!

[...oh that's actually kind of useful]

[VIDEO]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

Once he evolves once?

[Ashley looks back at her Zubat, who skitters and nods gently.]

Oh. Well, that shouldn't be too hard. He's already a little cuddle-bug.

[She smiles a little awkwardly when she says that, but he just nuzzles her hair.]

video;

[ossifragant]

That's an interesting question about Eevees.

I think some Pokemon can choose whether to evolve or not, too.

....I never did evolve my Eevee; Oliver's been with me nearly two years now and he's still an Eevee. At this point, I think it'd be a little strange. He's such a cute little guy, even if he doesn't like battling.

video;

[hashtagafreakingghost]

That helps, surely. The choosing thing. Arwen's entirely too happy about battling, though, so I figured I should figure it out so I don't lock her out of choosing, you know? [Vee! Ashley looks down, seems like someone's at her feet.] You're welcome.

...I wish I could just ask them what they wanted entirely, you know?