[Day 184] Actually we DO know how those eggs got there... [OPEN]

[unwrittenformula]

Who: The New Daycare Couple N, Hilda, Anna,  a whole lot of Pokemon and Pokemon Eggs, and YOU
Open: Open!
When: Day 184
Where: The new Pokemon Daycare Center in the Bastion
What: There's a new house in the Bastion. People are moving in to it, and Pokemon are playing in the yard.
Format: action
Warnings: Lethal amounts of adorable

[It took a lot of shards, and a lot of work, but it was worth all of that in the end. With the eggs they'd found at the broken Daycare Center getting so close to hatching, and their Pokemon numbers growing, staying in the apartments was just not going to continue to be a viable option. So the two trainers put their heads together, and after a lot of discussion, planning, counting shards and re-planning they had managed to come up with an entirely new Daycare Center of their own, complete with a yard and living area on the second floor.

And there it was, a new house standing on a new section of land in a slightly expanded Bastion, and after some shuffling around of personal belongings out of the tower apartments, N, Hilda, Anna, and all their Pokemon and eggs were successfully relocated to this new location.

So if anyone is making their way around the south quadrant of the Bastion today, this new house with its strange creatures playing happily in the yard is likely to catch your attention.

Come see what it's all about?]

Comments

[freedom_engineer]

Do they HAVE a father?

[Correct him if he's wrong.]

[unwrittenformula]

All Pokemon come from two different Pokemon. However the sets are not always female-male. As there are certain Pokemon who have no defined gender, certain Pokemon will mate with a male or female and still produce an offspring.

[He gestures to a strange purple blob with a face that has just been sitting some distance away, watching the two of them warily.]

Take Ditto for instance. Ditto is a genderless Pokemon with the Transform ability. It can take on any form and any power of any Pokemon it encounters. Ditto is also the only Pokemon in existence than can breed with almost any other Pokemon, regardless of gender, type or breed.

[freedom_engineer]

Yes, but that's not what I meant.

[He's going to have to be careful, you're tricksy, N.]

Do they have their family units here? I've only seen a handful of these creatures... Swablu, Zorua... those new eggs you've found.

[Colin gives Ditto a small raise of his palm in greeting, not wanting to ignore the creature.]

[unwrittenformula]

[Ditto seems less than impressed with Colin, and it lets out an irritated gurgle at him before rolling off to somewhere else.]

Here? No. Back home, it depended on the breed of the Pokemon. Zoura and Zoroark live in packs, for example.

[freedom_engineer]

Do you at least see the point I'm trying to make?

[He doesn't want to push N too hard, but... he doesn't want N to take his new chosen duties lightly either.]

[unwrittenformula]

... if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not think of myself that way.

[Caretare, he's fine with. "Father"... not so much.]

[freedom_engineer]

Fair enough.

[Colin nods in acknowledgement. He doesn't think N's going to be able to get away from it like that, but there's no sense in crowding him with it for now.]

So what's Ditto's story?

[He nods over to the retreating blob.]

[unwrittenformula]

Ditto doesn't much care for humans. It was abandoned at the daycare by it's trainer. It befriended the Daycare couple and helped them care for the eggs and young Pokemon, but any trust of other trainers it had after that was more or less gone.

[N frowns, finally coming back to the table.]

Getting it to come with us wasn't easy, and it's not likely to warm up to anyone here.

[freedom_engineer]

Poor thing. You said it's a shape-shifter?

[He's pondering exercise equipment for shape-shifters now...]

[unwrittenformula]

That's correct. While Zoroark can take on the image of anything, Ditto take on the shape and abilities as well. Conversely, a skilled Zoroark can take on human speech when mimicking one while most Ditto cannot. There have been cases of Ditto that gained that ability after quite some time of practice and training, but it is incredibly rare.

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin nods in understanding]

All very handy to know. Does it identify as any gender, do you know?

I might be able to make some exercise equipment geared to its shapeshifting abilities. Darlocks are shapeshifters, Silicoids are silicon-based entities that require amorphous equipment for injury recuperation therapy, and there are several other interesting creatures across the multiverse that view things like skeletons and skin as superfluous.

And yes, I know that "Silicoid" is a rather uninspired name. First contact with them was... unique.

[unwrittenformula]

Not specifically, no. There are a few breeds that don't particularly take a gender. Several Legendary Pokemon, in fact, don't identify as male or female.

[N shrugs at the comment about uninspired names.]

Naming conventions can't be creative all the time. There's plenty of Pokemon are named more or less what they are.

[freedom_engineer]

Mmhmm... I hate to simply call Ditto "it." A great many languages and cultures use such non-designation as a disparagement.

I may have to talk to Ditto, if that's ever going to have a chance to happen. I doubt it will happen any time soon.

[unwrittenformula]

Ditto is fine. Calling a Pokemon by their breed is nothing new or unheard of. Some name theirs, some don't. In the wild they're simply what they are.

[Don't hold your breath, Colin.]