Poppin' Arms ~ Cafeteria

[Navar]

Shiron noticed his reluctance to answer and sighed. Making friends was proving to be harder than it should be, even moreso since he wasn't used to it. Didn't mean he couldn't try, though.

Regardless, he nodded and chewed a bit of the meat, when he heard the question. "O-Oh, yeah. I am. I assume you want to know more about it? Or are you human too?"

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa grinned, brightening slightly. "Yeah, I'm human too. I'm from the Sinnoh region actually. Are you a trainer?"

It would certainly be nice if Shiron had been a trainer, though it was still good to know someone else human.

 

[Navar]

He instantly recognized the name, and his face flashed a bright smile.

"Sinnoh?! That´s nice! I'm from Hoenn. Lilycove, to be certain..."

He quickly blushed and rubbed the back of his head. Shiron made a mental note not to act so excited later; it was embarassing.

"I'm not a trainer. I mean, I was going to be one, but I got here before my journey started... I planned to visit Sinnoh one day!"

 

[Flyg0n]

"Cool! I'm from Canalave." He hardly noticed the Swampert's awkward behavior. It was just nice talking to someone who knew about a world like his own. He paused, contemplating. Lilycove? If Shiron was from a human world with pokemon, could he be from Koa's own world? But how could he even figure something like that out?

"Back home, I'm a trainer. I'm trying to collect all the gym badges so I can try to climb Mt. Coronet. But after that, I wanted to travel to Hoenn, actually." Best not to mention why he wanted to go to Hoenn though. He had no idea what would happen if he told Shiron how he hoped to catch a Latias.

 

[Navar]

"Oh, that's every teen's dream back home!" He beamed with excitement, just happy to talk with someone that shared similar experiences.

"Wasn't really able to, though, but the ironic thing is that I became my starter choice. Always thought Mudkip were cute..."

 

[Flyg0n]

Heartened, Koa took another bite of his food, swallowing quickly. At least that aspiration wasn't met with any scorn. "A Mudkip, huh? I don't know which Hoenn starter I would pick... Treecko are pretty cool but Swampert are awesome too," he mused out loud. Ground and water was a hard combo to beat. "Hey, what's your world like? You think we might be from the same one?"

Tapping his paw on the table, he tried to think of what similarities there might be. "Uh... do you know someone named Professor Birch?"

 

[Navar]

Shiron ate another bite of the meat and swallowed it down, using the time to let Koa speak.

"Not sure? Maybe, maybe not? I don't really get how this multiverse thing works."

Tapping his paw on the table, he tried to think of what similarities there might be. "Uh... do you know someone named Professor Birch?"

Shiron simply nodded. "Birch? Yeah, he's a researcher, lives in... what's its name?"

He tapped his chin and snapped a finger. "Oh, right! Littleroot! It's a long way from where I live, but I've heard of the guy."

The Swampert wondered... What could he ask about Sinnoh?

An idea came to mind. "Oh, I know? What about professor Rowan? Cranky-looking old man? Know about him?"

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa's curiosity intensified. So Birch existed on Shiron's world too? Although that was broad... he didn't get the multiverse thing either but he'd probably need more information than that to narrow it down.

"Oh, I know? What about professor Rowan? Cranky-looking old man? Know about him?"

At the mention of the familiar name, Koa's gaze sparked with interest. "My cousin is actually a friend of his! I got to hang out with him a lot. He pretends to be grumpy but I think he's nice." He paused. "Sort of," he added, recalling the times he'd been sternly admonished by the professor. "Let's see... Do you know who Sinnoh's champion is in your world?"

 

[Navar]

Taking the professor out of the way was the easy part. Now he was asking about the champion...

Who was the champion? He heard rumors about her, how her famous Garchomp crushed many trainers' hopes and dreams.

But he didn't remember her name. Or how she looked, other than her hair It was almost on his tongue, yet so further away.

"I-It's... A woman, right? Blonde, I think. Don't remember her name. I know that Steven's the champion of Hoenn, at least until I got out of there."

 

[Flyg0n]

Based on the description, there was definitely no one else it could be but Cynthia. "Sounds like Cynthia," he said, grinning. And Steven... the name sounded familiar at least. Maybe it was the same? What else... he took another bite, his mind running now, completely absorbed. This was like a challenge, and he loved challenges.

"Oh! What about Red, that Charizard we fought! Did you know a Red in your world? I think he was a champion in mine, at least for a little bit."

 

[Navar]

Oh, he got it right! Shiron smiled and nodded, paying more attention than before. This was surprisingly fun to do!

"Red? Hm," apart from the Charizard they battled, that name didn't sound familiar at all. "I don't remember him from my world. What region was he the champion of? I remember mine, and apparently yours? And... Unova had that guy with long, orange hair. Alder? I tried to know a bit about those three since I planned on visiting Sinnoh and Unova."

 

[Flyg0n]

"In my world, he's champion of Kanto, but he didn't stay there for very long I think. But he was one of the youngest Champions."

He tilted his head ever so slightly. "I'm pretty sure Alder is Unova's champion. Not really sure though, I never bothered paying much attention to there." He chuckled awkwardly. The mention of Unova brought back a fond memory of Kitto's trip there, and how he'd destroyed their gym leaders.

"Did you uh... ever hear of... Team Galactic?" He wasn't sure what answer he hoped to get but something inside him burned to know. Were there other worlds, other places out there? Perhaps one without their influence? Yet if they were there, was it even the same one? Was it his? He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Maybe changing the subject was better.

"Actually... how old are Hoenn trainers when they start their journey?" Sinnoh was 14, but he was sure Hoenn was around the same age, if not a little younger. If it was his world, that was the best way to know.

 

[Navar]

The mention of Team Galactic caused him to wonder again. This name wasn't familiar, and honestly, Shiron regretted not searching more about other regions, it could help with this conversation.

"Hm. I think... 16 for me? I'm a late bloomer, to be honest. I'm 20, but I know I should be qualified to be a trainer years ago. My parents just... didn't let me go."

 

[Flyg0n]

Ah, so there it was. "Aw man," he mumbled. Then he paused. "Wait, you're 20?" Shiron was... a lot older than him. "You're a lot older than me." For some reason, he'd never much considered the ages of his teammates. "In Sinnoh, trainers are allowed to leave home at 14. And I think our region is one of the highest age limits."

He let out a slight sigh. Part of him was a little disappointed. He'd hoped to meet someone from his own world. Then again, maybe only one person per world had been brought to Cibus?

"I guess we must be from different worlds." That notion was rather mind-boggling, yet cool. An entire other world out there of humans and Pokemon. What kinds of interesting things happened in Shiron's world, one so similar yet perhaps so different from his own?

 

[Navar]

"Hm? Yeah, I'm 20. Don't look like it, do I? And I certainly still act like a teen. Not that there's anything wrong with that..."

He looked down for a bit. The topic of his age sunk in, and he snorted a bit. At least he looked younger than he really was.

Shiron sighed. Well, he met someone from a similar world, they might not be the same, but they shared similar experiences. And that was nice. They had something in common.

"This is certainly... interesting, for me, I guess. Never thought there would be other worlds, and didn't think I would end up in one of them. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

 

[Flyg0n]

"You seem normal to me, I guess," Koa said with a shrug. "I mean... It's hard to figure out age when everyone's a pokemon I suppose. At least, it is for me. I don't think a lot about that kind of stuff much." Regardless of age, Shiron seemed nice. Earnest. Most of Team Spectrum seemed really cool. Except Bahamut.

He finished off the last bite of his burger. "That's weird to think of though, isn't it? There's so many worlds out there, and some of them are so similar, yet slightly different..." He shook his head to himself. "I wonder just how many versions are out there," he mused out loud.

 

[Navar]

"Yeah, makes you wonder. Maybe there's a doppelganger of me in your world. Who knows, right?"

He snorted. This was being really fun, and he wished they talked sooner. Koa seemed like a nice guy to chat with.

 

[Flyg0n]

Now there was an odd thought. Although it seemed like a reasonable conclusion. There were already two Cynthia's, two professors... could there be two of him? Two of Shiron? Was there another Brisa or Icetales out there?

"Oh wow... I hadn't thought of that before." He frowned. "I guess there could be. Although now I wonder... what kinds of lives would our doppelgangers have had? Would they have a better one? A worse one?"

A normal one? Did he end up with a Luxray in some world? Somehow he wasn't really sure how he felt about that, not having Echo as a partner. "Or are there even doppelgangers? Maybe we only exist in one world."

 

[Navar]

"...I have no idea. Feels like the kind of thing someone should ask Pop," he shrugged.

Now that was something he could get behind, and maybe ask Arceus once he had the chance. It was a natural conclusion, after all.

Shiron sighed, munching the meat again."This stuff is so weird, but if I do have a doppelganger... I hope he's having a good life."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa nodded in agreement. Probably best not to dwell on the intricacies of their being multiple worlds. It was far beyond his control, anyway. He watched Shiron again for a moment. The way he sighed and what he'd said... it sounded like Shiron might've had a rough life. Part of him was oddly curious and sympathetic. Yet he didn't want to ask. He didn't want to risk someone from a human world asking about him.

"I hope mine does too," he murmured. A slight smile crossed his face. He was glad he'd run into Shiron. Having lunch with the Swampet was cool. "Maybe we can grab lunch together another time, huh?"