Marowak Dojo ~ Living Quarters

[windskull]

"Seems like it. I'll be honest, I... well, I'm concerned about our odds, here. We were already at a disadvantage against one magikarp. But two?" He let out a sigh. "A magikarp shouldn't even be anything to fret about. Whatever power made them so big. It... it concerns me."

He stood up and shook off the last few bits of stray grass. "But enough about that. Cabot, you said? I'm Nip. I... think we may have met before. In that game of truth or dare, right?"

 

[Virgil134]

"Nice to meet you Nip," Cabot replied. "And yeah, we did. I... think I remember you talking about being from a tribe? Is that right?"

 

[windskull]

Ah yes, he had talked a bit about his tribe, hadn't he? Dwelling on the specifics left a sour taste in his mouth, so he elected to push the thoughts of her aside and say, "that's correct. I was a member of the Half-Moon Tribe, a group of pokemon that have dedicated their lives to Yveltal."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot tilted his head at Nip's answer.

"Yveltal... I think I've heard that name before in my world."

 

[windskull]

"Really?" Now Nip tilted his head. "The last group of mon I encountered had never heard of Yveltal. Then again, you're not from my world so... perhaps that would explain it.

"In my world, Yveltal is the overseer of death. According to my Tribe's history, Yveltal will appear to a pokemon in their dying moments, either as herself or as some other being familiar to them, and offer them a choice. Either they can choose to pass on, in which case she will take their spirit under her wing and carry them to the Great Beyond. Or else, if they were dissatisfied with their life, they can turn away, and choose to be reborn as a wandering spirit. Whether those stories are true or not, I can't say for sure."

 

[Virgil134]

"Oh, right! She's the Protector that's supposed to have power over death!" Cabot exclaimed. "I remember how one of my best friends told me about her once. His family is from an island called Nagrobek and Yveltal is supposed to be its Protector."

The Cranidos paused in thought a moment.

"Though... I can't tell you if those stories you just told also exist in my world, since I only know that she's a bird and that her powers are related to death."

 

[windskull]

"Protector, huh? I don't know if that's the word I'd use to describe her in my world. She does little to 'protect' us, per say. Not anymore, at least. It's been lifetimes since anyone last saw her." He paused, tilting his head upward. A wistful tone crept into his voice. "But they say that those of us that remain faithful to her will be granted favor in the Great Beyond. If nothing else, I can at least take solace in that."

 

[Virgil134]

"Hm, that's good!" Cabot nodded. "And, well, in my world Yveltal doesn't actively protect anyone either, or at least not yet. It's because her egg hasn't hatched yet."

 

[windskull]

"Ah, I see. It's a bit more of a symbolic name, then?" He paused, reaching up to scratch behind his head feather. "Or maybe... It sounds like it might be a two-way relationship. They protect Yveltal's egg. And in turn, Yveltal will protect her followers when she hatches?"

 

[Virgil134]

"Yeah, exactly! That's how things work for most Protectors in my world," Cabot answered.

The Cranidos gave Nip a curious glance.

"But... how's life like in your world exactly? Do most Pokémon live in tribes dedicated to certain gods?"

 

[windskull]

"It's the most common setup where I live," Nip admitted. "My tribe shares borders with two sibling tribes, one who dedicates their lives to Xerneas and the other to Zygarde. While we don't dedicate our lives to them, we recognize their power and still respect them. Those two tribes, we were friendly towards.

"I also know that, two the north, if one were to venture into the mountains, they'd find a tribe of frozen pokemon. Species that have taken up the ice typing in dedication to their god, Kyruem. My mentor comes from that land, though his connection to their tribe was severed long ago, when he was little more than a pup."

He paused, glancing down before he looked back at the cranidos. "That's what I knew for most of my life. More recently, though, I've come to discover that areas south of my tribe's nesting grounds don't do things the same way. They live more like the pokemon in this town would." He held his hands out to gesture to the rest of the dojo. "And yet, as far as I met one thing stays the same. The dedication to one, or perhaps a few central gods."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot carefully listened to Nip's story. While he didn't recognize the names of the other gods Nip mentioned, it was still really interesting to hear about the existence of the different tribes in his world. As Nip continued on, Cabot paused when the Sneasel mentioned that there were Pokémon in his world who lived just like the Pokémon here in town. From what he'd seen so far the Pokémon in Treasure Town didn't live that different from how they did in his own world, yet Nip mentioned it being very different from how his tribe did things. If that was the case, then...

"So, wait, how different does your tribe do things then?"

 

[windskull]

Nip tapped a claw to his chin. "How do I explain it... Well, like the pokemon that live in villages here, we are a community. But instead of building big structures like this—" he held his hands out to gesture to the room, "— we make our dens with more natural structures. Dugout burrows, repurposed caves, things like that. Mind you, we still use things like logs and brambles and other such things to fortify our homes. But something like this would never be made. For one thing, it only has one exit, as far as I can tell. If someone blocks the exit, you're trapped."

There were other differences as well, but considering how well trying to explain the hunting thing had gone over last time, he decided to not bother. And he wasn't about to get into the mess that the rest of his culture was. "That's the main thing, I suppose."

 

[Virgil134]

"Oh, so you guys make your buildings kinda like how ferals make their homes?" Cabot asked. "In my world Pokémon who live at the edge of smaller towns make their houses like that, or at least they sort of do. Though I've never heard of anyone doing it for other types of buildings like for example a shop or a dojo."

 

[windskull]

"Ferals? Oh, I'm assuming you mean something like wildeners. I suppose so, then. Though we're a larger community than most wildener colonies, from what I've seen. And we do have spaces separate from homes, like the nursery or the food store, or the meeting hub."

 

[Virgil134]

"Yeah, that definitely makes sense!" Cabot exclaimed. "It's a shame we can't visit each other's worlds, since I'm sure yours would be interesting to see!"

The Cranidos trailed off as he noticed one of large bags of food in the corner of the room.

"Anyway... I think I'll go pack up some extra food for our trip," he said. "I was hoping there were still some Gray Gummis left, though Owen asked me to get some red ones for him as well..."

 

[windskull]

"Indeed," Nip said, dipping his head. "I can't help but be curious about how different everyone's world might be."

As the topic shifted to food, his expression turned contemplative. "Gummis? Oh, that's those fruit-filled things you were making last night, right? I'll admit that I don't know much about charmander, let alone cranidos, but I'm kind of surprised that either of your kind can live off berry-based things like that."

 

[Virgil134]

"Huh?" Cabot tilted his head. "But Gummis aren't filled with fruit. I mean I guess the ones last night were, but that's not how they're normally made..." The Cranidos paused in realization "Wait, are they normally filled with berries in your world?"

 

[windskull]

"I don't think they even exist in my world," Nip admitted. "I mean, maybe they do. I hadn't had time to learn a lot about village food before I was brought here. But I've certainly never seen anything like them."

 

[Virgil134]

"You haven't?"

Cabot blinked out of surprise and said nothing for a moment. If Nip's tribe didn't know what Gummis were, then what did he eat back in his world? There's no way a scavver could provide enough meat for so many Pokémon to fully rely on... unless they didn't just scavenge.

The Cranidos shifted uneasily. Despite what Nip said earlier, if he and his tribe did hunt other Pokémon for food they'd be no different than a group of ferals. ... Though, did it really matter at the moment? Nip wasn't trying to hunt anyone right now, meaning the situation wasn't much different than a feral trying to join a town back in his world. If that was the case, wouldn't it make sense to offer Nip the same kind of help that they'd be given? Cabot shook his head and spoke up.

"Well, Gummis aren't anything like berries. They're full of all kinds of nutrients, so even Pokémon who'd normally have to eat meat when living in the wild can get by just fine by only eating them. I don't know how they're made exactly, but I know that in my world at least it somehow involves seaweed."