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Shadow and Song [Video, Action, then Video'd Action] [Backdated 3/22]
A. A time to keep, and a time to cast away [Video, Open]
[Ted was on the feed with a tense and tentative expression]
"Hello, everyone. By now the nature of the eggs have likely revealed themselves to exhibit nature's more lovely products: Pokemon. This isn't the first time such a thing has occurred here, and if it's anything like before, you ought to know what you're getting into.
When it comes to their capture or acquisition: be conservative and moderate. I understand all too well the temptation to have as many as you can; I also understand that like many things here, it will not last, and the majority of them will be drawn back whence they came. For every one you desire beyond whatever mysterious arbitration dictates, your heart will rive. I can't give a specific number; I myself was only allowed under a third of what I desired. Be cautious, and know that in all likelihood, time is short.
[Warning out of the way, he relaxes into his usual cheer]
So, to make the most of it, let's have some sport with these transient terrestrials. I look forward to seeing the rest of these motley menagerie, particularly at that sterling Stadium. Until then!
B. The teleology of Gengar
Donning his black goku uniform, Ted dutifully kept to his usual bounty hunting job, even if he'd much rather spend time playing with the pokemon-poltergeists that had made Everglade their haunt. It revived fond memories of when he'd met the rest of his first catch, all hailing from that city, Gengar most of all.
And yet, the superficial innocence of nostalgia wasn't all that possessed Ted's mind as he walked through the foggy and pallid evening air. Like Everglade itself, there was something unnerving about his grinning ghost, now that he'd had more innocent examples for comparison. Gengar was known as the "Shadow Pokemon", a gaseous creature familiar with the dark. Perhaps too familiar, though Ted could hardly criticize for that, given his own circumstances. Still, he aspired to be more, even opposite. All good men were to be sons of the light and day. What of good pokemon? It suggested a dim corollary; that any pokemon born of shadow might, in the end, be incompatible with the Father of Lights.
Gengar was, after all, mischievous. One need only see his wicked grin to know that much. The moves he could learn were darker still; befuddling the mind, blasts of concentrated darkness, globs of poison, and even striking with the sheer terror of nightmare. He could even cause illusions, something growing more and more hateful to Ted, who longed more and more for truth. What on earth or in heaven was Ted to make of him?
Losing himself in thought, it wasn't long before Ted lost himself in the material world, treading a narrow, cobblestone path between two decrepit houses. Everglade was perhaps the only city where one could be between presumably lived in homes, and still feel utterly alone. So Ted felt until a voice broke in from the surrounding fog.
"You've been looking for me, haven't you?"
There was something wispy and indefinite about that feminine voice, as if the fog itself were talking to him. It bore an inhuman, almost mournful quality, as it crept through the night.
"You're not the first. So many come to me, wanting things. Money, fame, love. I can provide them, or...something like. I can grant a world where their dreams are made manifest. When their dreams turn to nightmares...the look on their faces."
Something like humor without mirth cackled forth before Ted broke the monologue. "You...are you the Night Woman?" He'd been investigating this bounty longer than most. He'd done the usual busywork of rifling through the victim's possessions, looking for a connection. He'd found one in two of their journals, detailing how they'd resolved to meet with some witch or enchantress in order to sate their heart's desire. Naturally, consulting with a black magician didn't go well for them. Ted drew his hexproof cloak just to be safe.
"Is that the name the paper gave? If you like. I and those who covet...we're drawn together. And you covet very, very much. Me, of course. You'd really like to see me imprisoned. This world has stirred another desire, hasn't it? These creatures. You desire them dearly. And yet...there's another, burning want too, isn't there? Something you know this world can never give. A rare thing; how much it torments you!"
Was she reading his mind, Ted thought? Or something deeper; his heart, perhaps? Dry cackling seeped through the air, and he thought how best to apprehend the ethereal sorceress.
"I've had enough soliloquy. Why have you approached? It's not like the hunted to confront-"
"Silly man! Did you expect me to cower, like all your other quarry? I desire those who desire, and we will both come to an arrangement." A crooked, ragged crone appeared in Ted's path, with a face too weathered and dead to be called a grin. Ted tensed his body, ready for action.
"Violence won't avail you. Besides, there are more important things you want, aren't there? Like the other covetous ones." Before Ted could question or think of the meaning, the Night Woman's pitch-black shadow swirled around, extending in front of her hunched form. Her wicked smile twitched.
"There they are, lost in desire. Tormented by dreams turned nightmare. They may be dead; they may live. I know you won't rest till you find out for yourself. Your type always prize some wicked over others."
To Ted's chagrin, there was something familiar with that shadow. It went down and deep; no mere flat blackness, but an expansive emptiness that seemed to dig forever. Mystic intuition told him that it was indeed a prison where her victims went. Whether they still lived, and might be retrieved, consumed him, just as she predicted.
"Release them!"
"You should know how desire binds, just as I know your desire binds you to attempt a rescue. Try it, then. See if you can free them from their self-made prison."
That made him hesitate. Like always, Ted didn't know what he was getting into, nor whether the effort would bear fruit. They might be dead already; if, as the witch claimed, they were bound by craven desire, they might be impossible to extricate regardless. Dare he dive into the dark and try to save?
In that moment of hesitation, Ted felt something leave. His own shadow swung round, touched hers, then returned to normal. It got warmer. After the shock, he realized what happened: Gengar left, taking his slight chill with him. The beast had, as usual, hid in his shadow, and heard everything. Did the witch do it? Did Gengar?
Ted drew his phaser, pointing it at the Night Woman. "What have you done with him? Bring him back, or I'll-"
"It went of its own accord," she replied with a sober calm. "He also wanted you not to follow. Its desires, like everyone's, are laid bare to me."
That didn't do much to temper Ted. "Foul witch! If his fate turns sour, you'll get the worst of it!"
"There's..." something disturbed her; an incompatibility between her shadow and the shadow pokemon. "I can't...agh." A mystical agony had her almost transfixed.
"What?" Ted cried in anguished perplexity. "What's going on?"
"My shadow...it wasn't meant for..."
"Break this spell or I will!" Ted approached with haste and fury.
"Stop, fool! Even I don't know what will happen if I lose concentration! Move me and the fate of those within is good as gone!"
Ted was lost in indecision. He wouldn't let the witch out of his sight, but it seemed there was little he could do. Gengar had left, completely on his own, to go into her shadow. He could guess why. And now his presence was disruptive, somehow, locking the bounty hunter and the hunted into a stalemate. He could only look on, eyes on the sorceress and her shadow, rent desire tearing his heart.
They did not speak; they hardly moved. He was arrested with worry, and she with arcane focus. It felt like whole nights were passing before their still solemnity. Ted wondered if he had lost Gengar; how would he explain it to the rest of his pokemon? Did he make a mistake? What can he do?
He resolved to have faith, and think the best of things. This shadow that captured men of desire...did Gengar, one whose very being could unite with shadows, want to spare him that? Take danger in his place? He always did act a little independently; an imperfect obedience. So he watched, and hoped, and prayed that things would go well in the city where they never do.
Had it been five minutes? Ten? An hour? More? Ted hardly knew; even in good times, time had little significance to him. He just had to keep hoping in God and Gengar and whatever guardian angels were there.
A disheveled man popped out, making the witch groan and Ted gasp. He ran to succor him, not daring to let a life be lost through negligence. Three minutes in to emergency care before another one came, much like the first. He too was tended. Finally, the third victim erupted with Gengar carrying him by the collar, depositing him unceremoniously on the cold cobblestone. After that, Gengar sat next to them, red eyes weary with fatigue.
In a flash, Ted subdued the woman and put her in a darkness of his own. If ever someone deserved it, it was she. He was quick about getting everyone proper medical care, Night Woman last but not least.
Once the rigors of the job were seen to, it was just the two of them: trainer and Pokemon. Ted addressed Gengar with a tremor in his voice.
"You gave me a terrible fright."
Gengar's eyes turned towards his owner, rictus recovered.
"Not an unheard of occurrence. What's rather rarer is how you saved those men without my asking, much less my command." He swallowed, eyes brimming with joyful tears. "Is that why you're so close to darkness, Gengar? To bring men out of it?"
Before the ghost could respond, Ted fell on him, crying and kissing and embracing as though he had just returned to life.
"Oh, you lovely creature! Noblest and naughtiest of all beasts! Saint Peter's sick could hardly ask better! A very fine act; good boy!"
A compliment for dogs received a dog's turnabout as Gengar licked Ted's face with a very large tongue. This paralyzed Ted, arresting his passions and sending him to the floor. Judging by the smile, he did not appear to mind, eyes turned toward the sky. It was a while before he spoke again.
"There's another trapped in a darkness of his own make. If anyone can bring him out of it, you could. Thank you and bless you, Gengar. I'd spoil you rotten if you weren't already." A blissful fire coursed through his tingling, numbed limbs as he stared at the heavens. They were dark and cloudy then, but with patches and veins of silver sunlight. Had that silver always been so bright?
C. Dies Irae [Video/Action in Everglade, Open]
[What's shown is the gait of a man captured from an odd angle: below and behind, with special emphasis on his rear. Gengar, half submerged in Ted's shadow, had figured how to play with the videophone, and was making his first broadcast for--what else?--the annoyance of the world and the mollification of his trainer.
What's heard is a hymn by a practiced soprano, refined by the lessons of a professional choir boy and another won by contest. Given the accompanying picture, one could be forgiven for thinking Ted's derriere was the singer.]
Day of wrath and doom impending
David's word with Sybil's blending
Heaven and earth in ashes ending
Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth
When from heaven the Judge descendeth
On whose sentence all dependeth
Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth
Through earth's sepulchers it ringeth
All before the throne it bringeth
Death is struck, and nature quaking,
All creation is awaking
To its Judge an answer making
Lo, the book, exactly worded,
Wherein all hath been recorded,
Thence shall judgment be awarded
When the Judge his seat attaineth
And each hidden deed arraigneth
Nothing unavenged remaineth
What shall I, frail man, be pleading?
Who for me be interceiding,
When the just are mercy needing?
King of Majesty tremendous
Who dost free salvation send us
Fount of pity, then befriend us!
Think, kind Jesu! – my salvation
Caused Thy wondrous Incarnation;
Leave me not to reprobation.
Faint and weary, Thou hast sought me,
On the Cross of suffering bought me.
Shall such grace be vainly brought me?
Righteous Judge, for sin's pollution
Grant Thy gift of absolution,
Ere the day of retribution.
Guilty, now I pour my moaning,
All my shame with anguish owning;
Spare, O God, Thy suppliant groaning!
Through the sinful woman shriven,
Through the dying thief forgiven,
Thou to me a hope hast given.
Worthless are my prayers and sighing,
Yet, good Lord, in grace complying,
Rescue me from fires undying.
With Thy sheep a place provide me,
From the goats afar divide me,
To Thy right hand do Thou guide me.
When the wicked are confounded,
Doomed to flames of woe unbounded,
Call me with Thy saints surrounded.
Low I kneel, with heart's submission,
See, like ashes, my contrition,
Help me in my last condition.
Ah! that day of tears and mourning,
From the dust of earth returning
Man for judgement must prepare him,
Spare, O God, in mercy spare him.
Lord, all-pitying, Jesus blest,
Grant them Thine eternal rest. Amen.
[The singer, the singer's dress, the song, and the purple shadow-ghost recording it all were odd and earned odd looks from passers-by. All, perhaps, were not quite so odd as the gaiety Ted had with subject matter as grave as the Last Judgment. After the song ended, he caught on to Gengar's plot.]
"Come now, Gengar! Where's your vim and vigor? Sing along! Let's have an encore, in Latin this time!"
[After some thought, Gengar figured he might as well take a personal interest in the astonishment of the world, and added his own bestial accompaniment.]
Dies iræ, dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando Judex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus!
Tuba mirum spargens sonum,
Per sepulchra regionum,
Coget omnes ante thronum
Mors stupebit et natura,
Cum resurget creatura,
Judicanti responsura.
Liber scriptus proferetur,
In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus judicetur.
Judex ergo cum sedebit,
Quidquid latet apparebit:
Nil inultum remanebit.
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
Cum vix justus sit securus?
Rex tremendæ majestatis,
Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salva me, fons pietatis.
Recordare, Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuæ viæ:
Ne me perdas illa die.
Quærens me, sedisti lassus:
Redemisti Crucem passus:
Tantus labor non sit cassus.
Juste Judex ultionis,
Donum fac remissionis,
Ante diem rationis.
Ingemisco, tamquam reus:
Culpa rubet vultus meus:
Supplicanti parce, Deus.
Qui Mariam absolvisti,
Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi quoque spem dedisti.
Preces meæ non sunt dignæ;
Sed tu bonus fac benigne,
Ne perenni cremer igne.
Inter oves locum præsta.
Et ab hædis me sequestra,
Statuens in parte dextra.
Confutatis maledictis,
Flammis acribus addictis,
Voca me cum benedictis.
Oro supplex et acclinis,
Cor contritum quasi cinis,
Gere curam mei finis.
Lacrimosa dies illa,
Qua resurget ex favilla,
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:
Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem. Amen.
[So nice he'll do it twice. Gengar could only say his name in varying pitches, but he was no less enthusiastic. If the lyrics don't make one pine for the day of wrath, the duet of pokemon and man might.]
[Ted was on the feed with a tense and tentative expression]
"Hello, everyone. By now the nature of the eggs have likely revealed themselves to exhibit nature's more lovely products: Pokemon. This isn't the first time such a thing has occurred here, and if it's anything like before, you ought to know what you're getting into.
When it comes to their capture or acquisition: be conservative and moderate. I understand all too well the temptation to have as many as you can; I also understand that like many things here, it will not last, and the majority of them will be drawn back whence they came. For every one you desire beyond whatever mysterious arbitration dictates, your heart will rive. I can't give a specific number; I myself was only allowed under a third of what I desired. Be cautious, and know that in all likelihood, time is short.
[Warning out of the way, he relaxes into his usual cheer]
So, to make the most of it, let's have some sport with these transient terrestrials. I look forward to seeing the rest of these motley menagerie, particularly at that sterling Stadium. Until then!
B. The teleology of Gengar
Donning his black goku uniform, Ted dutifully kept to his usual bounty hunting job, even if he'd much rather spend time playing with the pokemon-poltergeists that had made Everglade their haunt. It revived fond memories of when he'd met the rest of his first catch, all hailing from that city, Gengar most of all.
And yet, the superficial innocence of nostalgia wasn't all that possessed Ted's mind as he walked through the foggy and pallid evening air. Like Everglade itself, there was something unnerving about his grinning ghost, now that he'd had more innocent examples for comparison. Gengar was known as the "Shadow Pokemon", a gaseous creature familiar with the dark. Perhaps too familiar, though Ted could hardly criticize for that, given his own circumstances. Still, he aspired to be more, even opposite. All good men were to be sons of the light and day. What of good pokemon? It suggested a dim corollary; that any pokemon born of shadow might, in the end, be incompatible with the Father of Lights.
Gengar was, after all, mischievous. One need only see his wicked grin to know that much. The moves he could learn were darker still; befuddling the mind, blasts of concentrated darkness, globs of poison, and even striking with the sheer terror of nightmare. He could even cause illusions, something growing more and more hateful to Ted, who longed more and more for truth. What on earth or in heaven was Ted to make of him?
Losing himself in thought, it wasn't long before Ted lost himself in the material world, treading a narrow, cobblestone path between two decrepit houses. Everglade was perhaps the only city where one could be between presumably lived in homes, and still feel utterly alone. So Ted felt until a voice broke in from the surrounding fog.
"You've been looking for me, haven't you?"
There was something wispy and indefinite about that feminine voice, as if the fog itself were talking to him. It bore an inhuman, almost mournful quality, as it crept through the night.
"You're not the first. So many come to me, wanting things. Money, fame, love. I can provide them, or...something like. I can grant a world where their dreams are made manifest. When their dreams turn to nightmares...the look on their faces."
Something like humor without mirth cackled forth before Ted broke the monologue. "You...are you the Night Woman?" He'd been investigating this bounty longer than most. He'd done the usual busywork of rifling through the victim's possessions, looking for a connection. He'd found one in two of their journals, detailing how they'd resolved to meet with some witch or enchantress in order to sate their heart's desire. Naturally, consulting with a black magician didn't go well for them. Ted drew his hexproof cloak just to be safe.
"Is that the name the paper gave? If you like. I and those who covet...we're drawn together. And you covet very, very much. Me, of course. You'd really like to see me imprisoned. This world has stirred another desire, hasn't it? These creatures. You desire them dearly. And yet...there's another, burning want too, isn't there? Something you know this world can never give. A rare thing; how much it torments you!"
Was she reading his mind, Ted thought? Or something deeper; his heart, perhaps? Dry cackling seeped through the air, and he thought how best to apprehend the ethereal sorceress.
"I've had enough soliloquy. Why have you approached? It's not like the hunted to confront-"
"Silly man! Did you expect me to cower, like all your other quarry? I desire those who desire, and we will both come to an arrangement." A crooked, ragged crone appeared in Ted's path, with a face too weathered and dead to be called a grin. Ted tensed his body, ready for action.
"Violence won't avail you. Besides, there are more important things you want, aren't there? Like the other covetous ones." Before Ted could question or think of the meaning, the Night Woman's pitch-black shadow swirled around, extending in front of her hunched form. Her wicked smile twitched.
"There they are, lost in desire. Tormented by dreams turned nightmare. They may be dead; they may live. I know you won't rest till you find out for yourself. Your type always prize some wicked over others."
To Ted's chagrin, there was something familiar with that shadow. It went down and deep; no mere flat blackness, but an expansive emptiness that seemed to dig forever. Mystic intuition told him that it was indeed a prison where her victims went. Whether they still lived, and might be retrieved, consumed him, just as she predicted.
"Release them!"
"You should know how desire binds, just as I know your desire binds you to attempt a rescue. Try it, then. See if you can free them from their self-made prison."
That made him hesitate. Like always, Ted didn't know what he was getting into, nor whether the effort would bear fruit. They might be dead already; if, as the witch claimed, they were bound by craven desire, they might be impossible to extricate regardless. Dare he dive into the dark and try to save?
In that moment of hesitation, Ted felt something leave. His own shadow swung round, touched hers, then returned to normal. It got warmer. After the shock, he realized what happened: Gengar left, taking his slight chill with him. The beast had, as usual, hid in his shadow, and heard everything. Did the witch do it? Did Gengar?
Ted drew his phaser, pointing it at the Night Woman. "What have you done with him? Bring him back, or I'll-"
"It went of its own accord," she replied with a sober calm. "He also wanted you not to follow. Its desires, like everyone's, are laid bare to me."
That didn't do much to temper Ted. "Foul witch! If his fate turns sour, you'll get the worst of it!"
"There's..." something disturbed her; an incompatibility between her shadow and the shadow pokemon. "I can't...agh." A mystical agony had her almost transfixed.
"What?" Ted cried in anguished perplexity. "What's going on?"
"My shadow...it wasn't meant for..."
"Break this spell or I will!" Ted approached with haste and fury.
"Stop, fool! Even I don't know what will happen if I lose concentration! Move me and the fate of those within is good as gone!"
Ted was lost in indecision. He wouldn't let the witch out of his sight, but it seemed there was little he could do. Gengar had left, completely on his own, to go into her shadow. He could guess why. And now his presence was disruptive, somehow, locking the bounty hunter and the hunted into a stalemate. He could only look on, eyes on the sorceress and her shadow, rent desire tearing his heart.
They did not speak; they hardly moved. He was arrested with worry, and she with arcane focus. It felt like whole nights were passing before their still solemnity. Ted wondered if he had lost Gengar; how would he explain it to the rest of his pokemon? Did he make a mistake? What can he do?
He resolved to have faith, and think the best of things. This shadow that captured men of desire...did Gengar, one whose very being could unite with shadows, want to spare him that? Take danger in his place? He always did act a little independently; an imperfect obedience. So he watched, and hoped, and prayed that things would go well in the city where they never do.
Had it been five minutes? Ten? An hour? More? Ted hardly knew; even in good times, time had little significance to him. He just had to keep hoping in God and Gengar and whatever guardian angels were there.
A disheveled man popped out, making the witch groan and Ted gasp. He ran to succor him, not daring to let a life be lost through negligence. Three minutes in to emergency care before another one came, much like the first. He too was tended. Finally, the third victim erupted with Gengar carrying him by the collar, depositing him unceremoniously on the cold cobblestone. After that, Gengar sat next to them, red eyes weary with fatigue.
In a flash, Ted subdued the woman and put her in a darkness of his own. If ever someone deserved it, it was she. He was quick about getting everyone proper medical care, Night Woman last but not least.
Once the rigors of the job were seen to, it was just the two of them: trainer and Pokemon. Ted addressed Gengar with a tremor in his voice.
"You gave me a terrible fright."
Gengar's eyes turned towards his owner, rictus recovered.
"Not an unheard of occurrence. What's rather rarer is how you saved those men without my asking, much less my command." He swallowed, eyes brimming with joyful tears. "Is that why you're so close to darkness, Gengar? To bring men out of it?"
Before the ghost could respond, Ted fell on him, crying and kissing and embracing as though he had just returned to life.
"Oh, you lovely creature! Noblest and naughtiest of all beasts! Saint Peter's sick could hardly ask better! A very fine act; good boy!"
A compliment for dogs received a dog's turnabout as Gengar licked Ted's face with a very large tongue. This paralyzed Ted, arresting his passions and sending him to the floor. Judging by the smile, he did not appear to mind, eyes turned toward the sky. It was a while before he spoke again.
"There's another trapped in a darkness of his own make. If anyone can bring him out of it, you could. Thank you and bless you, Gengar. I'd spoil you rotten if you weren't already." A blissful fire coursed through his tingling, numbed limbs as he stared at the heavens. They were dark and cloudy then, but with patches and veins of silver sunlight. Had that silver always been so bright?
C. Dies Irae [Video/Action in Everglade, Open]
[What's shown is the gait of a man captured from an odd angle: below and behind, with special emphasis on his rear. Gengar, half submerged in Ted's shadow, had figured how to play with the videophone, and was making his first broadcast for--what else?--the annoyance of the world and the mollification of his trainer.
What's heard is a hymn by a practiced soprano, refined by the lessons of a professional choir boy and another won by contest. Given the accompanying picture, one could be forgiven for thinking Ted's derriere was the singer.]
Day of wrath and doom impending
David's word with Sybil's blending
Heaven and earth in ashes ending
Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth
When from heaven the Judge descendeth
On whose sentence all dependeth
Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth
Through earth's sepulchers it ringeth
All before the throne it bringeth
Death is struck, and nature quaking,
All creation is awaking
To its Judge an answer making
Lo, the book, exactly worded,
Wherein all hath been recorded,
Thence shall judgment be awarded
When the Judge his seat attaineth
And each hidden deed arraigneth
Nothing unavenged remaineth
What shall I, frail man, be pleading?
Who for me be interceiding,
When the just are mercy needing?
King of Majesty tremendous
Who dost free salvation send us
Fount of pity, then befriend us!
Think, kind Jesu! – my salvation
Caused Thy wondrous Incarnation;
Leave me not to reprobation.
Faint and weary, Thou hast sought me,
On the Cross of suffering bought me.
Shall such grace be vainly brought me?
Righteous Judge, for sin's pollution
Grant Thy gift of absolution,
Ere the day of retribution.
Guilty, now I pour my moaning,
All my shame with anguish owning;
Spare, O God, Thy suppliant groaning!
Through the sinful woman shriven,
Through the dying thief forgiven,
Thou to me a hope hast given.
Worthless are my prayers and sighing,
Yet, good Lord, in grace complying,
Rescue me from fires undying.
With Thy sheep a place provide me,
From the goats afar divide me,
To Thy right hand do Thou guide me.
When the wicked are confounded,
Doomed to flames of woe unbounded,
Call me with Thy saints surrounded.
Low I kneel, with heart's submission,
See, like ashes, my contrition,
Help me in my last condition.
Ah! that day of tears and mourning,
From the dust of earth returning
Man for judgement must prepare him,
Spare, O God, in mercy spare him.
Lord, all-pitying, Jesus blest,
Grant them Thine eternal rest. Amen.
[The singer, the singer's dress, the song, and the purple shadow-ghost recording it all were odd and earned odd looks from passers-by. All, perhaps, were not quite so odd as the gaiety Ted had with subject matter as grave as the Last Judgment. After the song ended, he caught on to Gengar's plot.]
"Come now, Gengar! Where's your vim and vigor? Sing along! Let's have an encore, in Latin this time!"
[After some thought, Gengar figured he might as well take a personal interest in the astonishment of the world, and added his own bestial accompaniment.]
Dies iræ, dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando Judex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus!
Tuba mirum spargens sonum,
Per sepulchra regionum,
Coget omnes ante thronum
Mors stupebit et natura,
Cum resurget creatura,
Judicanti responsura.
Liber scriptus proferetur,
In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus judicetur.
Judex ergo cum sedebit,
Quidquid latet apparebit:
Nil inultum remanebit.
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
Cum vix justus sit securus?
Rex tremendæ majestatis,
Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salva me, fons pietatis.
Recordare, Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuæ viæ:
Ne me perdas illa die.
Quærens me, sedisti lassus:
Redemisti Crucem passus:
Tantus labor non sit cassus.
Juste Judex ultionis,
Donum fac remissionis,
Ante diem rationis.
Ingemisco, tamquam reus:
Culpa rubet vultus meus:
Supplicanti parce, Deus.
Qui Mariam absolvisti,
Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi quoque spem dedisti.
Preces meæ non sunt dignæ;
Sed tu bonus fac benigne,
Ne perenni cremer igne.
Inter oves locum præsta.
Et ab hædis me sequestra,
Statuens in parte dextra.
Confutatis maledictis,
Flammis acribus addictis,
Voca me cum benedictis.
Oro supplex et acclinis,
Cor contritum quasi cinis,
Gere curam mei finis.
Lacrimosa dies illa,
Qua resurget ex favilla,
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:
Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem. Amen.
[So nice he'll do it twice. Gengar could only say his name in varying pitches, but he was no less enthusiastic. If the lyrics don't make one pine for the day of wrath, the duet of pokemon and man might.]
A. [Video]
H-How come they're all called pokemon when th-they don't look anything alike?
Re: A. [Video]
Well, some of them can use the same "moves", like "Tackle", which is very common. Seems their battle techniques are spread far and wide across flora and fauna.
They're also all, to a man--er, beast--very intelligent, able to comprehend language, or at least English, despite not speaking a whit of it, with one exception. It's rare to find such wit among the beasts.
All of them can be stored in those curious spheres: pokeballs, a technology that appears as though it converts them to mere energy.
But I see your point; this menagerie is almost too motley to consider. Then again, aren't our own animal kingdoms equally bizarre?
[Hopefully Bracken got at least half of that.]
[Video]
I-I saw the pokeballs. Th-Those are too small. My puppy wouldn't be a-able to fit inside it, because its bigger than it.
Re: [Video]
Ah, remember, Bracken, appearances aren't everything. Did you go to the PokeCenter? It can't have taken one of those helpful nurses more than a minute to educate you in their use. Of course, I'm happy to teach in their place.
[Video]
Th-That's okay. I don't know why I would w-want to put my puppy in something... in something like that, anyway.
Re: [Video]
[Video]
Re: [Video]
[!!! PokeMortality was certainly the darkest subject to broach, and the second he was most worried about. He tried turning similar panic into reassurance]
"Oh, ah, not to fear! There has not once been a reported fatality among any of their ranks. As I've said," laughing nervously, "they're very hardy. They can fight all day long and be fresh and verve the next morning!"
He needs a minute to calm down from the thought of their demise.
"Eheh, anyway, there are upsides. It's one of the ways they mature and grow up, and it's fun for both parties besides. I don't mind indulging in some pugilism between them, if you like."
[Video]
[He glanced over at his eevee, which was very much a tiny fluffy thing.]
M-Mine likes being held and eating p... 'poffins'. I-I was going to teach it to s-swim, too. Because... Because there's a pond nearby.
[Look how kind of responsible he was being. He even thought of the water hazard.]
Re: [Video]
Not that pleasure is the only aim, mind! It's perhaps the only way they mature and grow. And it's always a pleasure in its own to see them blossom. Grass type or otherwise.
[Video]
Re: [Video]
Oh, well they really ought to spar with their own kind for best results. Not that they aren't extremely suited to the purpose of watchdogs, mind. You remember that purple specter I had with us in the ruins? A perfect example.
[He says in a loving way, as if to swoon. Clearly he's very fond of that pokemon in particular.]
Have you been to the stadium, in Nova City? A far ways away, but it houses that exact spectacle. You can see such bouts firsthand.
[Video]
I-I don't go to Nova City much. It's... It's really big and c-crowded.
[And he was the type who liked sitting in a tree in the middle of nowhere.]
What if... What if I find a friend who has a p... a... a pokemon?
Re: [Video]
Oh, good thinking. Yes, that'd do just as well; might even develop some quarrelsome friendship between the two beasts too, eh? I've been lucky enough to have a constant playmate and opponent both in a few.
[Video]
Re: [Video]
Godspeed! If you can find none, I'm happy to meet you with the same. Goodness knows they could use the exercise.
[Video]