Dave nodded slowly. "In my world at least, Grass Pokémon are biologically distinct from actual plants. They've basically got a standard Pokémon genome in a symbiotic relationship with plant DNA. Actually part of how... I worked out how to artificially make human and Pokémon genomes work together, and it works on a similar principle. That's where the half-Roselia came from."
"DNA, Genome? If I didn't know the overseer was translating all our words, I'd have found it astonishing that our worlds share so many similar terminologies. The leading theory in my world is that the common ancestor of grass types was actually a fairy type named Primaferna. It apparently adopted more and more plant like features until it split off into a whole typing of its own. Last I looked into it, only some fragmentary fossils were found in the water continent, and it's speculated that the florges species are convergently evolving in the same way. Mom was fascinated when I told her about it," Cynthian said with a chuckle.
"Inspite of that, many scholars have called the claims into question. It's still a hotly debated subject in Oakford."
Dave rolled his eyes at the story of the strange light. "Yeah, definitely sounds like a myth. That's... that's weird, though." Sapient and non-sapient versions of the same Pokémon coexisting? Able to interbreed but always producing sapients? Some kind of segregation distortion going on, but... "What's the ratio of ferals to non-ferals? Are there fewer ferals today than there used to be, with mixed offspring always being non-feral?" And... "...Do non-ferals actually go around courting ferals, who aren't sapient? That sounds, uh. Pretty fucking dubious."
"I don't really know how much more Ferals there are than non ferals. My guess is that there's more ferals out there since non ferals live in settlements whereas ferals live all over the wilderness." Cynthian held up his flower to his face and hummed, then came Dave's other questions and he almost choked on his spit.
"What? NO! Going close to a feral is dangerous enough, let alone trying to mate with one! It's not really understood why, but ferals act really aggressive when they meet non ferals, though it varies between the species. In fact... I've been attacked by ferals before, and it wasn't exactly a fun experience." He held his arm and groaned upon remembering that unfortunate afternoon.
"To answer your question... it's a very controversial thing really. Most of what I know about it was from the Espurr I mentioned before. There was a facility led by a mad Alakazam. He apparently wanted to know everything there was to know about why ferals and non ferals were separate, and he conducted all kinds of experiments the Espurr wasn't even comfortable telling me about herself. The thing about the non ferals just so happened to be one of them. It's not really common knowledge, and most non ferals wouldn't dare try going near a feral of the same species. She told me that the Alakazam ultimately vanished seventy years ago after being tracked down by the rescue team organization, but they never got to him because that's when the great ninetale disasters happened. I doubt he's still at large. Probably as dead and old as a dried onion by now."
"Lastly, the thing I mentioned about non ferals raised by Ferals is... well I'm not sure about it really. The only mon known to have been that way was a buizel in the sand continent. He was apparently raised by a herd of feral lapras, and they're a surprisingly docile species too. In the end he was taken in by a Marill family and worked in the expedition society."
Cynthian sighed and hoped Dave didn't think he was a complete idiot. He wasn't 100% sure of all the things he'd come to believe, but he made a note to look into them more himself when they're done saving this world... If they save this world
"What are the pokemon like in your world? And tell me more about your Roselia girl. You mentioned that you created her artificially. I won't speak on that, but I am curious how she's holding up. It must be tough not having biological parents, but you fill a similar role for her I'm sure, which is good of you." Cynthian rested his head on the side of his flower. "It sounds similar to how carbink are apparently born. They don't really have parents in the same way someone like me would. The diancie queen infuses rocks with genetic essence from the heart diamond to give them life. Interestingly, the Carbink species don't have any Ferals at all among their kind. Whether ferals of them never existed or went extinct, I simply don't know."
