#fossils. studying them carefully and hitting you with rock

[dandysworld-meh-imagines]

Can I request Shelly with a Male!Fossil Toon Reader? Reader is a Archaeopteryx Fossil covered in amber with his old feathers stuck in edges of the amber meaning he can sort of glide but he mainly just runs and Shelly is worried he might be forgotten like her but in all actuality he is popular due to being a real Dinosaur but he prefers being around Shelly due to preferring the quiet over the loud children's excited screams. (Reader gets overwhelmed since being an ancient fossil means he's not used to technology all too well (He can understand technology and use it, he just prefers not too and prefers to practice his hunting skills) and loud sounds meant danger in the past. (Big predators like T-rex and Spinosaurus and dangerous events like Volcanoes and The Meteor))

Shelly With A Male! Archaeopteryx Fossil Toon Reader!

Yep yep! This is really cute!! I hope I got it right too especially the reader's appearance? Lemme know if I did it wrong but here you go, dear! Thank you for requesting! <3

-Anna

-You were someone that genuinely awed Shelly, she thought you were such a cool toon who also happened to be a dinosaur? She was pretty excited! Of course, she never made you feel uncomfortable, always treating you with respect even if she fought the urge to just happily run around Gardenview. She studied dinosaurs so she definitely knew quite a lot about your kind too, even if you were a fossil with amber now. She would always be happy to talk about your species if you wanted, telling you what she knew and also getting to know you better and what you liked in a world not really for dinosaurs anymore.

-Kids loved to also watch you in awe, especially when they saw your fossil too, even your feathers that were sticking out! You definitely captured their attention and you kinda hated it. It would be fine if it was not a lot of kids or them being mostly quiet but it didn't take long for you to also have a crowd of fans just getting so happy to witness a dinosaur. Compared to them, Shelly never made you feel overwhelmed, even if she was visibly excited like them, you liked hiding somewhere on her floor or her room, getting overwhelmed with their screams and yells even if they were happy to see you. Shelly always made sure to calm down the kids or take you somewhere quietly with concern.

-Honestly, it didn't take long for you and Shelly to start hanging out more and more, she really appreciated you a lot and you find yourself calming down around her. You even ran around her floor that had a lot of ground and kept jumping on the tables, gliding a little bit before starting to run again. Shelly liked to admire you with a smile on her face, she liked how comfortable you looked. You even had a lot of conversations with her, making her laugh softly and just have a nice time together. It was also during these moments where she thought you looked cute and handsome at times, though she would be shy to let you know, always just having a small blush on her face as she shyly smiled.

-She giggles if you gently headbutt her with your head, you are truly a mysterious boy a lot of times but she still liked that. You and Shelly do a lot of things together, like reading books together in this quiet silence, sitting down somewhere soft like pillows or anything like that, she even tries getting her hands on a matching dinosaur costume for you too, maybe through asking the staff or trying to adjust and sew something together for you! If you go fossil digging with her, she tries to hit the rock as gentle as she can while also making progress, just so the loud sound doesn't overwhelm you. You like to watch how she oh so carefully treats the fossils like actual precious treasures she found and you realize how much she truly loves all of that stuff, no wonder Shelly was so excited when she first met you!

-Even though she is very affectionate, she makes sure to study your behaviors too, she always want to make you, her beloved boyfriend feel comfortable around her! Shelly even learns how you act if you are sad or tense and acts accordingly to those things so she can make you feel okay once more. It's safe to say that with time, Shelly knows you better than you know yourself! She remembers a lot of things about you and likes to gently stroke your head or leave slow kisses here and there as she praises you, she might even feel a bit more confident and call you handsome too here and there. Just don't remind her about it later on, she will get quite flustered about it!

-She really is a sweetheart when you get overwhelmed with loud noises, she gets very worried but she acts calmly as she gently holds your hand, dragging you away somewhere where it's very quiet. Shelly never leaves your side, holding you close and whispering reassuring things to you that everything is okay, no one is in danger, telling you to take deep breaths and more. She does this as she strokes your head, back, arms slowly, her warm touch helping you calm down slowly as her tone is soft and quiet. She is a patient girl, of course, she can stay there as long as you need her to. She smiles when she feels you relax completely, getting through another difficult situation. She likes to call you her strong amazing boyfriend during these times as she leaves a soft kiss on you.

-Since you like to practice your hunting skills, sometimes you like to chase Shelly around on the floor! She giggles uncontrollably as she feels you getting closer to her. It doesn't usually last that long since Shelly doesn't have the best stamina but you do like to slow down for her to not get caught so fast by you. One thing she likes to do is place plushies or specific objects around her big floor and your job is to hunt every single one of them down! It helps keep you sharp and has you running all around the place, sniffing and looking at many hidden locations. Shelly likes to cheer you on through it all!

-Poor thing tries her best to calm down the kids whenever Gardenview is open as she sticks by your side. Let the kids know to listen to Shelly talking about the type of species you are! It makes them quiet down as Shelly explains and says some cool facts about you. Thankfully it helps you relax slowly as the kids are quiet and are listening to Shelly ramble, you like to give a hidden smile to Shelly as a thank you and you just feel grateful for her and her help. If things get a bit out of hand, she quietly gestures for you to go somewhere more quiet as she has it under control. Even Shelly's toon handler might jump in to calm the kids or make sure to guide you to a safe place and check up on you.

-If you are fine with it, Shelly would love to study you without making you feel tense or anything negative like that. Whether it's her grabbing and analyzing your feathers or amber with careful hands or even your claws and fangs, she would be so gentle with it and won't overdo it. She is just curious about you a lot. Her eyes are literally sparkling as she is studying you, she really finds your claws and fangs impressive and even your fossil body, you really remind her of her fossil collection or the anatomy of the dinosaurs she has studied about with much love. She likes to compliment you with a soft voice as she thinks you are such a cool boyfriend, sometimes she doesn't believe it that you are hers.

-Shelly really does care so much for you and loves you a lot! She still finds it amazing that you are her boyfriend and feels so happy every single day when she sees you! She can never get tired of spending time with you, her beloved boy. Show her some affection back and watch her giggle and blush as she grins happily! You can always relax around this precious ammonite girl and you know that she has your side in everything you do or feel, she's your biggest supporter! Even if she's cheery a lot, make sure to give her some love back, you really do make her feel special a lot when you do that! Especially during the hard times she goes through!

Thank you for reading! <3

[itspeeko]

I want to post more of my fan characters. Like a decade ago I made one OC for every Pokemon type as an exercise, but Terry the Dark-type specialist from Virbank and Garett the Ground-type specialist from Pacifidlog are the only two who really stuck around in my head

Garett is a 30-something redheaded, long-haired, punk-looking dude descended from pirates who studies morphology (the Pokemon world term for irl evolution, because I thought it would be funny) in Ground types. Many Fossil Pokemon are part Rock type, and many artificial ancient Pokemon found on archeological dig sites are Ground type, so it’s theorized that Ground is actually a newer type descended from Rock, with Steel alongside it. Garett as a person is extremely environmentally aware because he’s lived on a coral reef / Corsola his entire life, but because he didn’t grow up on land he is super freaked out by Grass types. He owns a Claydol, a Golett and maybe a Galarian Yamask.

Terry is a 16 year old training prodigy who became interested in training when he was too young to battle legally, and he is just. Super entranced by the Dark type. He will talk your ear off. This kid loves dangerous Pokemon as much as Steve Irwin loved dangerous animals. He’s been to battle school and has studied Dark-type psychology on the field, and is insanely smart and quick-witted (as you should be if you’re dealing with Dark types) and he is very responsible, but this kid is also covered in scars because he couldn’t resist going for a swim with Sharpedo when he had the opportunity (they didn’t attack him; it was the Rough Skin ability). He also has an odd (by the opinion of most people) habit of being very close to or even in the hit zone of his Pokemon battles, standing next to his Pokemon when he is allowed to (usually only in wild or impromptu street battles). All of the Pokemon in his party were originally wild (as opposed to bred or traded), and he earned their trust slowly and square. Mixing Dark types can potentially be bad, because a lot of them are either loners, pack-bonded, or territorial. He has a Bisharp (male, Adamant, proud of its power) and a Scrafty (male, Lax, strong willed) who get along because although they both instinctually strive to be top dog, the social dynamics of the two species are different enough that they don’t fight. Unfortunately due to their presence he cannot own a member of the Sandile line. (The Scrafty is fine with Terry giving orders because he isn’t another Scrafty, and the Bisharp is fine with Terry because Terry won a one-on-one battle against it long ago when it was a Pawniard. By himself. Not with a Pokemon. The child fought a small monster made of knives.) Terry is also, slowly, carefully, slowly, raising a Zweilous (female, Timid, hates to lose), who may become a Hydreigon one day, but not at the moment; and a Zorua (female, Naughty, somewhat vain) whose egg he had found and hatched. Terry participates in the Nimbasa Sunday Night Stadium battles and on weekdays he is one of the Trainers on the Battle Subway. He has already defeated all eight gyms but does not plan on engaging the Elite Four or becoming Champion, although he would love a battle with Grimsley. To be honest he just wants to be the ideal Dark type battle specialist, raising Dark types and competing against other Trainers. Look at Dark types. See new Dark type moves. Go on Dark type adventures. Come up with Dark type strategies. The works

[dailynewswebsite]

What Will the World Look Like in 30 Years? Sci-fi Author Kim Stanley Robinson Takes Us There

Who knew that on this darkish hour of the local weather disaster hope would arrive within the type of a 563-page novel by a sci-fi author greatest identified for a trilogy about establishing a human civilization on Mars? However alas, that’s what Kim Stanley Robinson – the creator of 20 books and one of the crucial revered science fiction writers working in the present day — has given us with The Ministry for the Future. It’s a visit by way of the carbon-fueled chaos of the approaching many years, with engineers working desperately to cease melting glaciers from sliding into the ocean, avenging eco-terrorists downing so many airliners that individuals are afraid to fly, and bankers re-inventing the economic system in actual time in a determined try to avert extinction.

Robinson has a geeky, exuberant creativeness and likes to select up items of the world and study them like a geologist examines rocks. Within the novel’s 106 chapters, he riffs on blockchain know-how, Jevon’s Paradox, carbon taxes, ice sheet dynamics, quantitative easing, amongst different issues. He pays a whole lot of consideration to how cash strikes round in a carbon-based economic system, and should perceive the monetary underpinnings of the local weather disaster higher than any author I’ve encountered. However he’s not afraid to get bizarre: He writes brief chapters from the standpoint of a carbon molecule, a photon, and a caribou.

Extra from Rolling Stone

He additionally has a compelling heroine in Mary Murphy, an Irish ex-diplomat who runs a Zurich-based UN company known as the Ministry for the Future (thus the title of the e book), who’s up towards corrupt politicians and petro-state billionaires. Within the aftermath of a horrific warmth wave that kills 20 million individuals in India – Robinson describes 1000’s being “poached” in a lake the place they fled to flee the warmth — the Ministry sponsors varied technological tips to attempt to sluggish the warming, together with dyeing the Arctic Ocean yellow so it stops absorbing daylight. However the true drama is Murphy’s confrontations with a handful of central bankers all over the world who assist break the petro-billionaires and shift the economic system away from fossil fuels. In the meantime, debt strikes by college students and uprisings by migratory staff ship tens of millions of individuals marching within the streets. All of it feels believable, in a holographic, sci-fi kinda method. In the long run, Robinson achieves one thing sudden: He transforms the existential disaster we face into a contemporary fairy story of resilience and redemption.

Story continues

Rolling Stone talked to Robinson concerning the function of science in a sci-fi novel, violence as a political device, and why he thinks it’s time to purchase out the oil firms.

This interview has been edited for size and readability.

What was in your head if you sat down to put in writing The Ministry for the Future? I had written about local weather earlier than, nevertheless it was all the time offset right into a future that was distant sufficient that there was a niche between at times. I didn’t need the hole this time. I wished it to begin from now, exit about 30 years, create a believable future historical past that was, to my mind-set, a best-case state of affairs. But in addition one you possibly can consider in. In order that was the objective getting in. And I did need to recommend that regardless of the intense hazard that we’re going through, world response may dodge the mass extinction occasion. My complete notion of utopia has come down to only survival of the numerous species which are in peril. If we dodge the mass extinction occasion, we will deal with every little thing else which may occur later.

This e book opens with a brutal warmth wave in India that kills tens of millions of individuals. What impressed you to begin with that? Nicely, I’m terrified that it’ll occur. And so it struck me {that a} slap to the face, a warning shot, is perhaps a great way to start. As a result of it’s only a studying expertise, and I’m a novelist. However as a citizen, wanting on the information about wet-bulb temperatures [a measure of heat plus humidity], I started to understand that the gang that advocates for adaptation and says, “Oh, nicely if we get a 3-degree Celsius rise, we’ll simply adapt to that. We are able to adapt to something,” they have been fallacious on that. We truly may shortly hit temperatures that can cook dinner individuals. Once I understood what a wet-bulb temperature may do and the way restricted our capacity is to adapt, and the way energy grids will fail, after which there can be mass loss of life, nicely, it struck me the hazard that we’re in wanted to be emphasised.

As a nonfiction author who writes about local weather change, I’m fascinated about how you concentrate on scientific accuracy in writing your novels. I imply, it’s a unique normal than if you’re writing about terraforming Mars, proper? With local weather, you’re writing about the true future that we’re inventing for ourselves right here. Yeah. I come at it as a novelist. I need, first, to put in writing novel. And so what my aesthetic says to me is {that a} good novel could be very engaged with the fact principal. I don’t consider in fantasy novels. The truth principal is that if you’re studying a novel and also you come to one thing you say, “Yeah, that’s proper. That’s the way in which life is.” That is what you learn novels for, is that vibe, that feeling. And I need that.

So I attempt to follow the sciences as carefully as I can, even in my Mars novels. I don’t break the legal guidelines of physics. I don’t like fantasy. And I do stay with a scientist. My spouse [Lisa Nowell, a chemist with the U.S. Geological Survey] is actually fairly robust on my manuscripts by way of accuracy and tone. And likewise, due to her I spend a life with scientists. I watch how they work. I watch how they assume. I’m entertained by them. They strike me as humorous individuals. And that’s good. I imply, fortunate for me, proper?

Within the e book, the warmth wave in India is what galvanizes political motion. It jogged my memory of a dialogue I had years in the past. I used to be out within the North Atlantic with some scientists and we have been speaking about what was going to wake individuals as much as the local weather disaster. And one stated, “Nicely, when a giant hurricane comes alongside and wipes out a serious American metropolis, then individuals are going to get up.” And that was proper earlier than Katrina. After which we had Sandy, and Harvey. And nothing actually modified. There was no nice political awakening. Nicely, in my novel, I make it very clear that these occasions occur, it galvanizes motion, after which no one modifications and no one does something. And I’m very on this cognitive error within the human mind that folks don’t consider it will possibly ever occur to them till they’re truly getting hammered personally. And even then, you examine these individuals dying of Covid who’re claiming it to be inconceivable as they die. Michael Lewis was writing concerning the federal authorities in his e book The Fifth Component, speaking a couple of city in Ohio that acquired worn out by a twister, and we went to the city 10 miles to the north and so they have been saying, “Nicely, it will possibly’t occur to us. They’re within the twister observe and we’re not.” As if there’s such a factor as a twister observe. It’s superb.

So I’d agree together with your remark that there’s nobody occasion. That’s one of many the explanation why I went to wet-bulb, the temperature deaths, the mass deaths which may occur. [That] may radicalize that one nation lengthy sufficient to wake individuals up. What I wished to point out was some locations would get higher, different locations wouldn’t care, and that it actually would take a full 30 years of concerted motion. And so I saved coming again to the worldwide businesses the place we coordinate worldwide diplomacy, and likewise the central banks. The concept if funding capital will solely go to the very best fee of return, then we’re really cooked. We’re doomed.

One of many putting issues about your work on local weather is that it’s so deeply meshed within the monetary system. There’s a notion amongst many individuals on the left that fixing the local weather disaster is incompatible with capitalism as we all know it in the present day. Do you share that concept? Nicely, I’m a leftist, an American leftist, and I’m saying simply as a practicality that overthrowing capitalism is simply too messy, an excessive amount of blowback, and too prolonged of a course of. We’ve acquired a nation-state system and a monetary order, and we’ve acquired a disaster that must be handled within the subsequent 10 to 20 years. So I’m wanting on the instruments at hand. Tax buildings, positive. And primarily, I’m speaking a couple of stepwise reform that after sufficient steps have been taken, you get to one thing that’s really post-capitalist which may take enormous parts from the usual socialist methods.

I imply, I’m a member of the DSA [Democratic Socialists of America]. I like the entire injection of progressive left into the Democratic Occasion. I cherished Bernie. I like Biden. I like something that appears to me prefer it’ll be quick and efficient. So quantitative easing. The quantitative easing of 2008 is actually suggestive. If that cash have been focused, not given to the banks to do their standard silly playing of going to the very best fee of return. None of those mitigation tasks are going to be the very best fee of return. They aren’t worthwhile as such. It’s simply that they save the world. So I’m arguing [for] the form of hyper-reformist platform. I take the instruments that we now have in hand, attempt to wield them from a leftist and an environmentalist perspective.

There’s a whole lot of eco-terrorism and eco-sabotage in Ministry. Because the urgency of the local weather disaster grows, this appears more likely to happen in the true world, too. What are your ideas about violence as a political device? As a middle-class American, a privileged white, American man, advocating violence is an irresponsibility, as a result of it’s different individuals which are going to get harm by that. And likewise, my feeling is that even the violence would solely be to attempt to jumpstart higher laws. With out higher legal guidelines, the violence would simply be pointless violence. And so once I wrote the e book, I used to be making an attempt to stroll a superb line and say to individuals, “This sort of step is more likely to occur.” As a result of there’s going to be individuals far angrier, who’re on the sharp finish of the stick, who’ve seen individuals die, who get radicalized and are going to do violent issues that is perhaps silly violent issues, or they is perhaps fairly good violent issues, relying on who’s doing it and what for.

And so to my thoughts, I believe sabotage, which might be destruction of property fairly than human beings, positive. However violence towards people? No. I’d fairly see the legal guidelines change quick, and do it by the use of logic and purpose. However we’re not very logical, individually or socially.

Is there a disconnect between the state of affairs that you just put ahead hopefully within the e book and the one in your coronary heart of hearts you assume goes to play out in the true world? Sure. However this [book] is a deliberate political act to proceed to insist that if the best-case state of affairs got here to cross, it wouldn’t be so unhealthy. We may truly create a affluent world of advocacy for everyone and hold all of the animals alive. It’s technically attainable, which is to say bodily attainable. So it’s a narrative that must be instructed.

After which my very own private opinions, they’re all around the map. They aren’t all the time very hopeful like that e book is. However they’re additionally irrelevant. I’m only a bourgeoisie suburban home husband. What I believe may occur is irrelevant to my political positions and my novels, as a result of you possibly can’t predict the longer term. I imply, I wrote a novel during which the Soviet Union was lasting for, I don’t know, it was set possibly a century or a half-century sooner or later. I printed that novel in 1988. And so my sense of what can actually be predicted could be very — I don’t even assume that’s what science-fiction novels try to do. We’re not making an attempt to foretell the longer term. We’re operating situations for his or her present political classes, if there are any.

The 2 facets of your e book that I discover directly inspiring and possibly slightly implausible are, first, the concept that the UN turns into a pressure for change. And second, you will have a line within the e book that claims, “Laws does it in the long run.” In different phrases, that we’ll cross legal guidelines and laws that can grapple with the local weather disaster in a significant method. Nicely, sure. However I’ll say this. Rule of legislation, as weak a reed as it’s, is all we acquired. If we don’t have rule of legislation, when you have been to say some virtuous eco-warriors have been one way or the other to grab energy and implement a virtuous motion. Nicely, no. That state of affairs doesn’t play. It received’t occur that method. So it’s rule of legislation or nothing.

the ministry for the longer term

You write loads about geoengineering in Ministry – pumping water onto glaciers to sluggish the soften, spraying particles within the sky to chill down the ambiance. A number of years in the past I wrote a e book about geoengineering known as Cool the Planet. I realized that the majority scientists talked about geoengineering the way in which they might speak about intercourse – it was not one thing they wished to debate publicly. That’s altering, slowly. It appears to me that, for higher or worse, it’s inevitable that we’re going to attempt a few of these massive technological interventions. And the extra open we’re about it, the higher we will perceive the dangers and science. Proper. I’m with you on that. I really feel like the extraordinary prejudice towards the concept of geoengineering coming principally from the progressive environmentalist left, the place I’m, is a class error and isn’t being attentive to the realities of the hazard that we’re in. And generally they’re false. This notion that no matter we will we’re going to get Snowpiercer or no matter, or it’s simply an excuse for wealthy individuals to proceed doing what they’re doing. Nicely a few of that’s fallacious, and you understand this. You place mud within the ambiance and 5 years later it’s gone. It’s an experiment that received’t go awry and kill the world. After which a few of it’s simply outdated. The scenario that we’re in now, niceties about defending the sentiments of the wealthy are going to be utterly irrelevant if we’re in determined want. So all of it must be on the desk, such as you stated. Overtly mentioned.

However it’s additionally true that geoengineering is fairly incompatible with Inexperienced New Deal-thinking. I really feel like my job as a science-fiction author is to press the purpose that making one thing politically incorrect if you’re in an emergency is a silly transfer and isn’t being attentive to actuality itself. And there’s a lot conformity, there’s a lot ideological conformity, but additionally conceptual ignorance. I like the Inexperienced New Deal. I like HR109 [the Green New Deal resolution introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]. That’s actually a wise doc. It’s not naïve. It’s not primitive. It’s a totally articulated plan that takes in a whole lot of social parts which are very well completed. So this isn’t a naïve crowd. There’s one thing hubristic concerning the phrase geoengineering, and it seems like a Silicon Valley techno silver-bullet repair that’s towards the grain of the overall program that the left is insisting on, which I completely agree with.

However alternatively, I’m in a pleasant place. Being a science-fiction author, I can say, “Wait. Let’s put every little thing again on the desk.” I’m keen to say, “Look, no one’s completed a correct evaluation of nuclear energy. Perhaps it’s a bridge know-how and possibly we want the U.S. Navy to construct our total electrical grid.” I imply, I put that in Ministry. “And go together with nuclear for an additional 100 years till we get the clear power laid out.” Now which may be fallacious. It could be that we bypass that second, and that clear power is so good, so low cost and so quantitative that there’s no have to mess with one thing as harmful as nuclear. However it all must be on the desk. There needs to be no pieties, no political truisms at this level.

With Biden about to change into president, the darkish days of the local weather motion in America could also be ending. How hopeful are you proper now concerning the path issues are going? Nicely, rather more than I’d’ve been if Biden hadn’t received. I’m hoping that there can be pressures and forces larger than Biden and his crew that can shove them in the suitable instructions. I met John Kerry in McMurdo Station in Antarctica. He was Secretary of State. He had a month to go. It was December of 2016. And he was nice. He gave an hour discuss improvised after staying awake about 24 hours. I used to be actually impressed at his grasp of the scenario and his capacity to synthesize and go to crucial factors. However once more, it’s not going to be a person sport, and the fossil gas industries and the opposite huge fossil gas nations, the petro states, they’re all essential too.

For this reason I hold coming again to quantitative easing. You’re going to must repay the oil firms. You’re going to must repay the petro states. They’ll want compensation, as a result of their fiduciary duties and their nationwide priorities for the ability of their very own nation states are intensely tied up with these fossil fuels. And so we’re going to must pay to maintain it within the floor. And so you possibly can regard that as blackmail or you possibly can regard that as simply enterprise as standard, as a stranded asset that also has a price to us by not being burned. I imply, it’s an actual monetary worth. Saving the world has a monetary worth that must be paid, and so we name it quantitative easing. So I’m hoping that the unusual mechanisms of the Democratic Occasion and the American authorities will mesh with the Paris Settlement.

You’ve religion that the Paris Settlement will reassert itself? Sure. That is one other leftist truism that isn’t true, that the Paris Settlement is irrelevant or meaningless or not adequate or no matter. It’s the framework by which we’re going to make all this occur. It’s a serious occasion in world historical past. It’s clearly toothless and it doesn’t name for sufficient and the voluntary commitments by the person nation states are solely about half of what’s vital. However it’s what we’ve acquired. And to dismiss it out of hand, after which what’s the substitute? Instantaneous world revolution? I imply, give me a break. It’s so crazily idealistic the place the right is being the enemy of the nice.

The toughest factor to know concerning the local weather disaster, and one thing that your e book does so nicely, is imagining the totality of the transformation that should occur right here. Typically I’m skeptical that we’ll ever be capable of bend our minds round it. Nicely, sure. However that is the place I’ve a whole lot of religion within the novel as a creative kind. It’s very capacious, it takes in a whole lot of junk, it’s not a slim or environment friendly artwork kind. It’s a saggy monster. And my novel is a saggy monster. However the novel is concerning the social totality. And what’s cool about being a science fiction author is the planet is a part of the social totality. It’s a citizen, it’s an actor within the actor community, it’s a part of our physique.

That is what I like concerning the responses to The Ministry to this point, is individuals desire a sense of their totality, which is clearly an imaginary act as a result of the totality’s too huge to be comprehended. However it may be imagined in novels. The novel is a 19th-century, quaint kind that’s been outdated by the flicks. Typically it seems like possibly its run its course like epic poetry, or performs in verse. However it’s probably not true. Individuals nonetheless learn novels. And in order a novelist, I like that. And if it helps the political scenario, then all the higher.

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from Growth News https://growthnews.in/what-will-the-world-look-like-in-30-years-sci-fi-author-kim-stanley-robinson-takes-us-there/ via https://growthnews.in

[insecwrites]

the Story of Steven Sableye Stone

                                               > READ ON AO3 <                                             Fandom: Pokemon. Rating: Gen fic, T+ rated. Summary: During an Excavation in an unscouted cave, Steven unearths a gemstone unlike any he has ever seen before. But before he can bring it back to study, the cave he is in collapses.

When he wakes up, he is no longer in the same cave - or even in the same body for that matter!   Chapter one;

There was truly nothing more special than this, Steven thought to himself. Kneeling in the dust from his work, a mining light on his forehead, his face-mask hanging unsued around his neck, searching through his backpack for a snack - he was at his happiest.

Cradily was the only pokemon out of its pokeball today, quietly standing a bit behind him. As much as Steven loved his pokemon, he enjoyed the silence and solitude that came with his work, and Cradily shared his interests in fossil. Armaldo, Aggron and Skarmory much more enjoyed digging and testing their strength or speed.

Steven unwrapped his berry-bar and took a bite, the starchy taste of oran berry filling his mouth. It wasn’t a flavour he really cared for that much, but the bars were filling, and at this point he’d begun to associate them with his treks through the Hoenn mountainrange.

It had been a while since he’d last gone on one of his expeditions. Having become Champion of the League had really eaten away at his free time, and Steven had found himself in offices and meetings far too often for his liking. He could no longer pack up his rucksack and go out to look for a cave – he didn’t have the time.

Steven had been on his way to Granite cave when his father had called him with news. Someone had stumbled upon an undiscovered cave! Naturally, Steven <em> had </em> to go there right away, and here he was.

 The cave had turned out even better than Steven had hoped. After clearing out a few obstructions with Metagross’ help, it had been easy to navigate the tunnels. The Pokemon in the cave were mostly Onix and Steelix, the layout was straightforward, and there were a lot of spots fit for digging!

It would take a while to properly catalogue everything and protect the more intact specimens, but once that work was done, this cave could become a wonderful attraction. It wasn’t quite as other-worldly as the Meteor Falls, but it could become a great place for travellers to meet and battle.

 A soft touch jolted Steven out of his thoughts, and he looked at his Cradily. One of its petals had reached out to touch his cheek.

“What-...? Oh, you must be hungry-” Steven said, and he held out his berry-bar towards the pokemon. “Here you go, have a bite.”

 Cradily shook and nudged the bar away, pointing vaguely at Steven’s wrist. Ah, he should have known, it was already rather late. Cradily had a biological clock that could put watchmakers to shame. Steven stroked a few of its thick petals as he answered. “Yes, I know it is late, but I think I’m going to stay.”

 The Cradily made a rather offended sound.

 “If this is about my meeting with the Elite Four – I will cancel it. They should be used to it by now. I’m staying. It’s been too long time since we were in a new cave together, and I really don’t feel like getting any of you hurt during ‘training’.” Steven said. “Drake never bothered to teach that Salamence to watch out with its power.”

 Cradily bristled, shaking its leaves in denial, and Steven let out a half-amused huff. “Oh I see – this is about your tv-show isn’t it?

 Cradily rustled, a little softer, and Steven laughed as he rubbed his hands over the thick oily petals of his pokemon. “Don't worry, I made sure to tape it, just in case. And I taped Metagross's and Aggron's too.”

 Cradily rustled again, almost relieved, and Steven’s previous transgressions were forgiven as the large pokemon folded himself against Steven's back and over his shoulder. Steven patted the large pokemon absentmindedly, and finished the last few bites of his berry-bar.

“I’ll prepare some real food for us later, after I’m done with this.” He said to Cradily, and he scratched his fingers between the roots of Cradily’s thick leaves.

 The patch he was working on was somewhat of an oddity. It was a discoloured piece of sandstone, right between two earth-plates. The two kinds of stone were not created under the same circumstances and really shouldn’t be found together like this unless it was the work of a Pokemon.

Torkoal and Macargo liked to make their nests out of molten stone, and a lot of Pokemon used Earthquake to shift the crust of the earth but Steven hadn’t seen any of those pokemon since leaving Mt. Chimney.

 In short, this digging site was too interesting to leave unattended.

 Steven put his breathing mask back over his nose and mouth, and grabbed his tools. Slowly but surely he worked at the stone with his chisels, watching the stone slough off in thicker and thicker slabs. Some of the shards almost resembled modern types of wall-plaster, and Steven collected several samples in plastic bags to study back at home.

The stuff looked mundane, and was probably boring to anyone but fellow Geologists, but Steven had never heard of its kind before. The results would be interesting, if only for how it had been created and in which layer of the earth.

 Steven’s chisel hit a bad spot, and Steven startled backwards as the rest of the stone crumbled. A thick wave of fine dust blew in his face, and Steven shielded his eyes from the assault.

 “Ack!” He coughed. He hadn’t had his mask on exactly right, and a good whiff of dust had made it past. “Pleh- cough-cough! T-that never becomes any less surprising!”  

Steven wiped the dust from around his eyes as quickly and carefully as he could. His Cradily was making excited little sounds, and Steven knew that they had hit something interesting.

 A perfectly round gem sat embedded in the brittle stone, banded with swirls of yellow, red and purple. Steven let his fingers graze the surface, and jerked away when warmth touched his fingertips. His Cradily tried to look over his shoulder, and one of its massive flower-petals obstructed Steven's view.

 “Cradily, I can’t see-!”

 He pushed away Cradily's leaf, and scrutinised the stone. It looked almost impossibly whole and round, and it was polished to a shine as if an artist had created it. To an untrained eye, it would look like a marble, but Steven knew better. This was not glass.

“Cradily, step back for a bit please. This calls for precision.” Steven said, and he took out his smallest tools, carefully scraping at the sandstone to get the mysterious stone out of the wall.

 Almost too good to be true, the rock around it crumbled away easily. Within minutes, Steven held the impossibly perfect orb in his hand. It was still warm and almost clammy or oily, like it had been held on someone's hands.

Steven stood up, and held it up higher, angling his flashlight to shine more directly at the stone. “Cradily- have you ever seen something like this?”

 Cradily rustled. Negative.

 Steven angled the stone back and forth, studying the patterns inside. It looked beautiful, but Steven had no clue how it could have been shaped like this. The pattern itself was already impossible to have been created naturally, and the round perfect shape could not be a coincidence.

 “…Unless there’s more of them.” Steven finished. He looked back at the sandstone wall and the few traces of grey stone still left, and he knew that he would be skipping dinner tonight. Maybe even sleeping. It was a good thing he’d taken pre-made food and a sleeping bag with him.

 He carefully put the stone in his pocket, and zipped up the zipper.

 Now, Steven was adept at reading the sounds and sights in a cave. He had spent most of his childhood in the caves near his home, and most of his teenage years being dug out of collapsed tunnels of his own make. It was very common to hear disputes between big rock and ground pokemon. It was run of the mill to see churned earth and thrown boulders and cracked plates wherever there were big Pokemon. At the same time, any tunnel that showed signs of having been there for more than three years was a tunnel strong enough to explore.

 So when the sounds of grinding earth and stone began echoing down the tunnel, Steven was not worried. When a light layer of dust began raining down, he wasn’t worried. Cradily was silent. When a Stalactite crashed onto the cave floor only a few meters from where he was sitting, Steven jerked free from his focus on the stone.  

 For a moment he sat frozen, trying to judge if he should run or not. The far-off roar from a furious Steelix seemed to vibrate the very earth, and most worryingly – it didn’t stop after the roar stopped. The trembles in the stone got worse, and the telling cracks of stone sounding from further down the tunnel were what finally jumpstarted him into action.

 He practically pounced on his backpack, and fumbled to get his pokemon out of their balls.

 Cradily was staring up at the ceiling, leaves trembling and eyes as wide as they could go. There were more than a few cracks forming in the stone, snapping and groaning as they went, and dust rained down on top of them. Steven’s throat was already feeling as dry as a desert when he called out his pokemon. He didn’t want to know what happened to a pokemon if they ball was crushed while they were still in it.

“The tunnels are collapsing!” He yelled as soon as they were out of their pokeball. “Run! Follow me!” It was fortunate that he favoured ground and steel types, or the boulders that dropped from the ceiling might have crushed them

 They ran as fast as they could through the tunnels, accompanied by frantic geodudes and zubats. Steven’s eyes burned when the dust became too much to blink away, and he tried to block the dust from his lungs with one of his sleeves. His pokemon could have gone faster than him at this point, but they didn’t know the way out. Armaldo and Aggron were pushing and pawing at the ceiling of the tunnel, trying to hold it open by acting as support, and Cradily shielded Steven from falling rocks.

The tunnels were collapsing in on themselves, and Steven watched in a detached horror as the ceiling of the cave gave in and collapsed.

 It was Metagross that saved him from being squished under the stone, by throwing itself over Steven and taking the weight of the mountains on its back. Steven tasted the floor of the cave as sand and rocks slid over Metagross’ back and in between its legs.

More and more crumbled down, and slowly Steven and Metagross were buried underneath the rubble. Steven could hear the loud cracks of rocks hitting rocks becoming more muted, until they were nothing more than distant thumps – like he was hearing them through a wall.

 Finally, after what seemed like ages of rumbling and sharp dry breaths, the collapse came to a stop. Metagross didn’t move an inch, and Steven just breathed. Was he hurt? He couldn’t feel anything but soreness. He spat out the taste of mud. “Metagross- can you see the others?”

 His pokemon replied with a strained grunt. Without seeing its body language, the answer could be interpreted as anything. Steven took it as ‘I don’t know.’

“Of course not- we’re buried...” He said quietly. His pokemon were all rock, steel or ground types, but he didn’t know if they were built for a collapse like this. Technically speaking, pokemon like Skarmory didn’t live underground, and Cradily had been classified as bottom dwelling sea pokemon.

 Metagross let out a worried, strained sound, and Steven placed his hand on the pokemon’s closest leg. “The others- I don’t…. I don’t know how they’ll hold up in a collapse like this. Can you move?”

 Metagross rumbled uncertainly, and Steven could feel the pokemon’s body begin to tremble with strain. One of Metagross’ feet lifted off the ground -  and Metagross lost his balance. Steven had a heart-stopping moment where he thought that his pokemon would fall on him, but Metagross did not fall. It wobbled and grunted, and bled a small stream of silvery liquid, but it did not fall.  

The answer to his question was very clear. No, Metagross could not move.

 “Okay. You can’t move.” Steven breathed. “That’s okay- we’ll find a way out of this.”

 The space underneath Metagross was small, and Steven wiped the dust off his mining-light. He had to dig away some dirt to even reach his pocket, but in a small mercy his Pokenav was still intact. He flipped the thing open, and squinted at the harsh light from the screen. His father was on the first dial, and he tapped his name. He knew very well that reception in the caves was bad, but he had to try.

The Nav dialled one time, before it showed its error message.

 ‘Cannot connect to Hoenn network. Please try again later.’

 “No, come on...” Steven mumbled. He tried again, and again – and again- ... “I don’t have a signal.” He said. “….I’m not getting any signal at all.” Metagross let out a high, whimpering sound. Steven knew that sound intimately. Metagross had made those same sounds when he was still a Beldum – when he’d been scared, and hiding in Steven’s jacket.

Steven shifted a few uncomfortable rocks out from under his stomach and legs, and rolled onto his back. He rested a hand on the cool steel of Metagross’ belly, where he knew that Metagross’ could feel it. “Don’t worry.” Steven said. “We’ll be alright. I will start digging a way out, and we’ll be able to tunnel to the outside.”

 Metagross rumbled a little, and its high whimper faded away.

 “That’s my pal.” Steven said, and he turned back onto his stomach again. “All you need to do, is try to hold out as long as you can. We’ll find a part of the tunnel that hasn’t collapsed, and if we fail at that, we might get into range of the Hoenn Pokenav network.”

 Metagross rumbled, and Steven began digging.

 The first few rocks were easily dislodged, but it didn’t take long before his progress slowed down. For every rock he pulled away, another load of sand and grime would flow in place. For every scoop of sand he dug through, he’d find a boulder too large to move on his own.

He was running out of places to dig, and Steven didn’t want to think about what that meant.  

 It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Steven’s throat was as dry as paper, and he panted through his mouth as he worked. Metagross had started to tremble from strain, and was making its whimpering little noises again.

It wasn’t too long before Steven started to feel like there was no more air to breathe. His digging slowed down, and became clumsy. He grabbed the wrong rock and his efforts collapsed, blowing dust into their little hiding hole. Steven coughed, and gasped for air, grasping at Metagross’ body.

 “Metag-” Steven tried to speak, begging for the comfort and protection that his pokemon offered, but it came out like a gritty whisper. He had to cough again, because his lungs were itching and burning like he’d inhaled paralysing spores, but there was almost no more air to inhale.

 Steven couldn’t find the breath to dig for freedom, and deliriously he began to wonder if any of his pokemon would make it out.

Metagross was strong, but they had been so deep, and did it even remember how to dig?  Aggron could make it, but Scarmory, Cradily, the others-… They needed to breathe.

 “M-ta-gross” Steven rasped, and he pressed himself closer to his pokemon. He fought for air. His hand slipped away from Metagross’ flat underbelly, and his vision began turning black. Metagross was no longer attempting to be quiet in its whimpering, but there was nothing left in Steven that could offer comfort.

 He sank away, and did not wake up again.

[pokemaniacal]

Pokémon Moon, Episode 8: In Which I Am Given A Stern Talking-To By A Colourful Sisterly Figure

“So what you’re saying is, you almost killed my Totem Lurantis because your crazy great-grandmother would have wanted it that way?”  Mallow folds her arms as she waits for an answer. “…she had a drinking problem.  And a gambling problem.  And… several legal problems.  But she was pretty spry for 94.” “When did she…?” “Um… well, about eight years back, the law caught up with her, and she grabbed a shotgun, stole a motorbike, kidnapped the neighbours’ Heracross, and skipped town, laughing all the way.  Honestly she’s, uh… probably still kicking.  Somewhere out there.”  I idly dunk a spoon in the half-finished pot of stew from Mallow’s trial and taste it. “Mmmmmmmm, that’s so f%&£ing good. Good call on the Revival Herb, by the way.”  Mallow shudders. “Okay, well… I’m pretty sure you did technically pass my trial… somehow… so… take these, I guess.” She thrusts a sack of Nest Balls at me, then hands me her Z-Crystal, the Grassium-Z, and leaves me to explore the jungle on my own.  Now that I can encounter and catch wild Pokémon there, I am rewarded with three new ones: Bounsweet, Comfey, and Oranguru.  I’m not exactly inspired by these so far.  Bounsweet is a round, pinkish-red fruit Pokémon that brings to mind the phrase “oh, look, it’s Cherubi,” but it does evolve into something that might not be Cherrim, so we’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.  Comfey is a Hawaiian lei Pokémon, one of those Flabébé-like Fairy-types that really looks as though it should be a Grass-type and has a bunch of stuff that supports Grass-types; it’s nice and thematically appropriate to the setting but doesn’t seem to evolve, and so far doesn’t really look like it’ll measure up to a fully-evolved Florges.  The third Pokémon, Oranguru, is so far the most interesting-looking – a purple and white apelike Normal/Psychic Pokémon that fights from a cross-legged sitting position.  It too shares a Pokédex page with something else, so there’s a good chance it will evolve.

When I leave the jungle, Professor Kukui turns up to congratulate me on passing all three of Akala Island’s trials, and remind me that I’m not off the hook yet: the next step is to face Kahuna Olivia in battle, to provide amusement for whatever primitive heathen deity rules this island.  But first, he has a little diversion for me: he wants me to come and visit a facility known as the Dimensional Research Lab, back in Heahea City. “If this is your way of recruiting me to some wild goose chase of a research project that’s going to get me killed in a ridiculous sci-fi laser explosion, Kukui, I swear to Arceus…” “No, of course not!” he protests.  “At the very worst you’ll be trapped in an alien nightmare dimension with no hope of ever returning home!  It’ll be no worse than being hit simultaneously with Mean Look, Trick Room, Shadow Force, and Dark Void.”  I stare at him in silence for a solid thirty seconds. “Eh. Good enough.” 

Lillie is already at the lab when I get there, trying to teach Nebby to use Splash, of all things.  I see right through her (admittedly clever) deception, of course.  When your real goal is for your Pokémon to lay waste to a region with the most powerful move of all – Explosion – what better way of avoiding suspicion than by pretending to focus on the weakest move of all?  I’m wise to your schemes, terrorist girl.  I give her a suspicious leer, causing her to squeak in feigned shock, and we enter the lab together.  The Dimensional Research Lab is run by one Professor Burnet, who happens to be Professor Kukui’s wife (GOD DAMN IT HE’S STRAIGHT).  She is also a friend of Lillie, having… randomly discovered her and Nebby lying unconscious on a beach three months ago.  This was apparently not a significant red flag to anyone involved. Lillie claims that she had been looking for Burnet anyway, and had simply “gotten lost” on the beach before collapsing from exhaustion.  How convenient, that circumstances should align so neatly for her to gain the sympathy and enter the confidence of the very professors she had been seeking.  I squint at Lillie again, mouth the words “I’m onto you,” and start scribbling in a notebook.  She returns a look of utter bewilderment and pulls down the brim of her hat to cover her face.  More importantly, returning to the conversation at hand, Burnet is a physicist who has dedicated much of her career to the study of strange phenomena designated “ultra wormholes.”  These are, as far as I can glean, mysterious wibbly-wobbly spacey-wacey holes in reality that occasionally appear in the sky over Alola and randomly spit out powerful demon-Pokémon to terrorise the region.

…this, I point out to nobody in particular, is yet another thing that the tourism brochures mysteriously failed to mention.

Professor Burnet is evasive when I try to ask her whether she’s actually seen a wormhole, or one of these “ultra beasts,” but notes that several known Pokémon possess power over dimensions, and claims that the sensitive equipment in her lab should be able to detect the wormholes. She also explains that the four guardian deities of Alola fought against the demonic invaders in ancient times to protect their region… which suddenly makes me very nervous that Tapu Koko’s plans to ruin my holiday may go way beyond just making me fight Pokémon battles for its amusement.

Of course, the instant I leave the lab, a gigantic glowing rift in space appears briefly in the sky, as if to taunt me, before closing up a few moments later. I’m… totally going to get drafted into a war between dimensions, aren’t I?

Whatever. Not my problem.  I’m just going to get on with this trial nonsense and pretend I didn’t see th- oh, gods, what if Nebby is the vanguard of the demonic invasion???  No! Nope.  I’m not thinking about that.  Just… go find Olivia.

Kahuna Olivia lives in Konikoni City, on Akala Island’s southwest coast.  To get there, I have to travel through Alola’s take on the Diglett’s Cave, a tunnel system inhabited by Zubat and Alolan Steel Diglett.  Olivia herself is actually there when I arrive, but is apparently too busy for me and requests that I meet her at her shop in Konikoni.  What is she busy with?  Well… apparently working with some of those Aether Foundation conservationists. The Foundation rents space in an office building in Heahea City, next to Professor Burnet’s lab (and right above Game Freak’s Alola branch), though as far as I can tell they don’t actually do anything there.  Their presence in the tunnels is a response to some recent unusual Diglett activity that has been making the area dangerous for travellers and miners, which they blame on Team Skull’s shenanigans.  Well, their story checks out – further into the caves, I encounter two Team Skull grunts I don’t recognise, and battle them in tandem with Hau, who is gradually becoming almost respectable as a trainer.  That was simple enough… almost weirdly so.  Team Skull are such buffoons, and I’m not even sure what they were trying to accomplish by disturbing the Diglett. Could there be some greater design behind their nonsense…?

…nah, I’m just being paranoid.  Just because their name starts with “Team” doesn’t mean they’re going to open a dozen of these wormholes and bring about the apocalypse.

Once on the other side of the tunnel, I take a brief look around Konikoni City. It’s a colourful city with heavily Japanese-influenced architecture.  Like most big Alolan cities, it’s a hub for tourism, with markets that sell rare incenses, TMs and clothing.  Down by the cape, there’s a lighthouse, but I can’t access it (yet?), as well as a woman who not only offers to teach my Pikachu Volt Tackle, but even gives me a special Z-Crystal.  I thought these things were sacred relics!  The Pikanium-Z, when its power is unleashed by the absolute stupidest dance I have yet been taught, transforms Volt Tackle into a truly devastating super-move… Catastropika. Catastropika?  Really?  That’s the name we’re going with here, Alola?  Not, like… Pikalamity, or Pikataclysm, or just Pi-Kaboom? Seriously, the translators dropped the ball on this $#!t. Whatever.  Apparently the rules for Z-moves are a little different to what the previous crystals had led me to believe – some of them are related, like Mega Stones, to just one species, or even just one move used by that species. Then there’s Olivia’s own shop. Olivia, a Rock Pokémon specialist, sells evolutionary stones and fossils.  Contrary to her earlier promise, she’s not there, but has left her Probopass to run the shop (because… why not?) and given it a message, telling me to join her at the nearby Ruins of Life, the home of the guardian Tapu Lele. 

Ohhhhh no. No.  I’ve already got one of these ‘guardians’ lording it over me and telling me what to do, just because it… like… I don’t know, saved my life or whatever.  The last thing I need is Tapu Lele arbitrarily deciding to offer me “guidance,” or punish me for trespassing, or turn me into an attractive paperweight, or-

Ugggggggh, but on the other hand, I can totally see a couple of members of Team Skull heading for the Ruins of Life through that creepy cemetery outside town. If Olivia’s gone out there to fight them, or they’ve gone out there to attack her… well, then frankly that’s her problem, right? …right? “Zzzzzt! I dunno, boss!” the Rotomdex interjects. “Sure seemzzzz like it’d be a dick move not to at least go check it out!” “No one asked you, you cursed calculator-watch,” I mutter, but decide to go anyway.  If Olivia… somehow can’t handle those idiots, it’s bound to be my fault, one way or another. 

I do my best to pick my way respectfully through the cemetery on Memorial Hill, skirting carefully around each grave.  As I reach the other side, I spot the two Team Skull grunts – it’s “B” again, with another of his idiot friends.  But it’s not just them – there’s a Slowpoke with them, and they’re arguing with an Aether Foundation worker.  Beside her is a green-haired man with huge yellow-green glasses and a white lab coat, regarding the situation with strange detachment.  As I approach, I hear the Foundation worker shouting. “Team Skull!  Give back that Pokémon!”  The second grunt flicks a few random gang signs in her direction as he shouts his response. “Don’t give me trouble!  I’ll reduce you to rubble!” “Mmm, trouble/rubble; there’s an original one,” I interrupt, sidling up between the Aether Foundation worker and the man in the glasses.  “You know, I bet you’re the first in all the history of the English language to rhyme those two.”  I shoot the young woman a glance, and stage-whisper to her “Sarcastic enough? D’you think they’ll get it?”  She only stares at me, dumbfounded, so I shrug and turn back to the Team Skull grunts.  “Sorry, am I interrupting something?  You weren’t about to kidnap this Pokémon, were you?”  I feign a wide-eyed gasp.  “Tsk, tsk, tsk… You know, I really thought we were getting somewhere, boys, I honestly did.”  The second grunt just looks bewildered (I’m not totally sure whether I’ve met him before), but B looks like smoke is about to start pouring out of his ears.  I give him my most practiced look of sincere disappointment.  “Come on; I thought we were moving past this.  Can’t you let this one go?  For me?” I smile at him. “But- wh- you- NO!” he splutters.  “We’re gonna sell this Pokémon to get rich, and we won’t make no bones about it!  If you want it back, y- you- you’re gonna have to take it!”  I sigh and reach for a Pokéball… until the other grunt abruptly gets a look of comprehension and elbows B in the side. “Yo, homie?” he says quietly.  “This ain’t…? Is it?”  B turns to him and continues spluttering. “Wh-what you talkin’bout, dawg?” “Look, you don’t gotta let nobody step to you when your Team Skull brothers are around, ‘specially not this fool!  Take a chill pill, homie; I got your back!”  B’s gaze flicks back and forth between me and the other grunt for several seconds, then they both turn their backs to me and start arguing.  The Aether Foundation woman gives me a quizzical look, as though to ask for an explanation.  I shrug at her, but then inspiration strikes.  I hold a finger to my lips to signal for quiet, then crouch low and try to make eye contact with the Slowpoke.  It looks directly at me… then yawns and looks away.  I snap my fingers, glancing at the grunts to make sure they haven’t noticed, and the Slowpoke – with all the urgency of cold treacle – turns its stupid dopey face towards me.  I jab a finger at it and start beckoning it towards me.  A full ten seconds later, it gives a decisive nod, turns around, and begins walking directly away from me.  I roll my eyes, then glance around, grab a convenient rock, take careful aim, and throw it at the Slowpoke, striking it on the back of the head.  It turns around to face me again.  I jab my finger at it again, then point firmly at the ground beneath my feet and start beckoning once more.  This time, the blasted thing apparently gets the message and starts crawling steadily towards me.  I glance up again.  The Team Skull grunts are still deep in an animated argument about… something.  It’s definitely turning out worse for B, who is holding one hand to his face and cringing for some reason.  About a minute later, the Slowpoke reaches me.  I silently make a coo-ing face at it, and pat it gently on the head, giving a thumbs-up to the Aether Foundation girl with my other hand. “Sloooooooooooow…” the Slowpoke says, appreciatively.  This, unfortunately, gets the attention of the grunts again, who spin around to face me. “Right!” I say decisively, standing up straight and clapping my hands together. “I’m sure we all have other business to attend to today, so why don’t we all just-” but the second grunt is having none of that. “You ready?” he yells at me, grabbing a Pokéball from his belt.  “Cuz I was born ready, yo!” “Well…” I sigh, “worth a try.”  I send out my own (infinitely more responsive) Slowpoke… which turns out to be a mistake when his Pokémon is revealed as a Dark Raticate, forcing a hasty switch to my Trumbeak.  From there, though, Rock Smash makes short work of it. “That loss was pathetic!  Your moves were so kinetic!” the grunt declares, stunned.  B grumbles something under his breath, then shakes his head and shouts at me. “We don’t need that Pokémon anyway!  Take it then! Good luck and good riddance!” Both of them flee the scene.  The Aether Foundation worker breathes a sigh of relief and leans down to pat the Slowpoke. “Phew… thanks, kid.  I could’ve been in real trouble there…” “Now, now,” her companion admonishes her, speaking for the first time, “stand firm! Think of what the president would say!” “That’s what you say, Chief!  But you don’t lift a finger!” “Why, I am the Aether Foundation’s last line of defence!”  I frown at this comment, carefully scrutinising for any signs of particular competence, but he doesn’t seem to notice.  “What would become of the Foundation if something were to happen to me now?”  He tut-tuts her, then turns to me.  “You are a trial-goer aren’t you?  You’re a splendid trainer!  I’m deeply impressed!  I’d like to reward you by showing you something truly astounding.  Once you have finished your Grand Trial, come to Hano Grand Resort and I will take you to see a wondrous place.”  I accept his invitation with a shrug.  Can’t be any worse than whatever the Kahunas and the Guardians will want me to do next.

I continue along the path to the Ruins of Life, past a truly spectacular cliff side and up towards the ruins’ great stone gate.  Someone is standing in the path… a young woman… but as I get close, it becomes obvious that it’s not Olivia.  She has waist-length pink and yellow hair, black clothes, and… an unmistakeable Team Skull necklace, as well as the Team Skull logo tattooed in pink on her bare midriff.  Looks like I’m starting to attract all the wrong kinds of attention from these guys. I briefly consider trying to avoid her, but she’s clearly seen me first, and looks like she was waiting for me. “So…” she says, confidently strolling up to me.  “You’re the one Gladion was talking about?  Hmph.  You don’t look like anything special to me.” “Well… looks can be deceiving, right?”  I try to flash a confident grin back, but there’s something a tad unsettling about her. “…uh… is this about the Slowpoke, or…?” She looks me sternly in the eye. “I’m Plumeria.  I help keep Team Skull together.  I’m like a big sister to all those numskulls.”  Her expression softens a little.  “Look… you have realised what idiots all these guys are, right?” she asks. “Um. I- I guess?” I reply.  Obviously I have, but I’m a little taken aback by her frankness. “But… don’t you think some of those dummies are cute in their dumbness?  You know what I mean… right?”  Plumeria gives me a strange look that is somehow equal parts conspiratorial, teasing… and deadly threatening. “Um. No.  No!  I have no idea what you’re talking about!  What are you even implying here?  Who said anyone was cute?  Not me, that’s for sure.”  Plumeria glares at me coldly. “Is that so, punk?  Well, I gotta tell you – you picking on my cute, dumb brothers and sisters is really annoying me!”  She grabs a Pokéball and summons a Golbat.  Oh, thank Arceus, a problem I know how to deal with!  My Dartrix is a real champ in this fight, thanks to the affection bonuses we’re starting to accumulate; he dodges a Confuse Ray and an Air Cutter, and shakes off some nasty poison, to secure a win against the Golbat, and seriously injure the Salandit that Plumeria sends out in its place. Salandit finishes my Dartrix with Flame Burst, but its own weak physical defences leave it easy prey for my Trumbeak. Plumeria recalls her Pokémon, steps back, and looks me over for a second.  Even though I just beat her, her gaze is… still kind of chilling. “Hmph. You’re pretty strong,” she says. “I’ll give you that.  But mess with anyone in Team Skull again… in any way… and I’ll show you how serious I can get.” Without waiting for a response, she spins around on her heel and stalks off. “I’m not messing with anyone anywhere!” I call out after her.  “It’s not like I have a… a… a stupid ‘thing’ for one of your dumb little brothers.  Uh.  Or sisters.  Could be a sister; you don’t know me; you don’t know my life.  I mean, it- it’s not, because it’s no one, but- but you don’t know!”  Plumeria is long gone by this point, of course, but that’s no reason to let her get the last word.

Finally, I reach the entrance to the Ruins of Life, with Lillie suddenly right behind me, escorted by Professor Burnet.  Lillie is apparently here at Nebby’s behest, and doesn’t know much more than that.  Before I can interrogate either of them, though, Kahuna Olivia emerges from the ruins. She apologises for her earlier absence by explaining that Tapu Lele had summoned her to help “clean up” the ruins (wait… so the Kahunas have to do household chores for the guardian deities?  Okay, maybe I’m not really getting the short end of the stick after all). With minimal preliminaries, Olivia accepts my challenge… and promptly wrecks my $#!t.

I never intended my current team to be in any sense permanent – Raticate’s going to go at some point, probably Trumbeak too once I’ve finished exploring its evolution, and I’m not 100% on Pikachu or Slowpoke either – but even so, I have to admit it was a slight oversight to have three Pokémon with Rock weaknesses and none with a Rock resistance.

My Dartrix takes out Olivia’s first Pokémon, a Nosepass, without immense difficulty (though, again, a few affection bonuses help to seal the deal).  Then… in comes her partner Pokémon, Lycanroc, a creepy-looking red-and-white werewolf Pokémon that I can only assume is the evolved form of Rockruff.  Its powerful Rock Throw attack immediately knocks out my Dartrix and my Salandit, then as soon as I try to bring its defences down with Trumbeak’s Rock Smash, Olivia unleashes its Z-move: Continental Crush, which as far as I can tell is a move that works by dropping Australia on you. My poor Slowpoke flinches under Lycanroc’s Bite and doesn’t even get a chance to hit back with Scald.  Finally, my Raticate manages to bring it down with Crunch.  Enduring what would have been a finishing blow from Olivia’s final Pokémon, a Boldore, Raticate manages to do just enough damage before fainting to bring it within striking distance for my last Pokémon, Pikachu, to finish it off. 

Phew.  Okay.  Lesson learned.  No more underestimating Rock-types.  Especially weird, gangly werewolf Rock-types.

…what, you didn’t think I was actually going to lose that one, did you?  Listen, “wrecks my $#!t” is very much a relative term here.  Sure, it looked bad for a little while but I’m a former Champion (in multiple regions, if you count my… past lives, or… whatever… look, I try not to think about it too hard), and Olivia is, like, the head shaman of some backwards middle-of-nowhere hick island who does chores for a bird.  Of course I beat her; I’m amazing.  Give me some credit here.

Olivia rewards me with her Z-crystal – the Rockium-Z (did the Alolans listen to these names at all while they were picking them…?) – and sends me packing just as Hau arrives for his own Grand Trial. Hau has apparently received the same invitation from the Aether Foundation as I did, and is eager to get his trial out of the way so we can go and have a look.  Lillie is decidedly less enthusiastic, presumably since she knows the Aether Foundation is hot on her trail, and makes a stammering excuse. Well, whatever.  Sooner or later, Lillie… you can’t run forever.

Ridiculous quote log:

“Yo! I’m a herb seller!  I’m self-taught, but I sell good quality herbs!” Why does everyone in this region try to get me to do f#$%ing drugs!?

“There’s a faint smell of spices, sauces, and other fragrant things…” …okay maybe this is the time to admit that I… kiiiiiiinda have a thing for smelling other people’s beds?  Uh, I- I mean, it’s totally not a sex thing, not even a little bit; just, uh… if I come across someone’s bed, I like to… give it a good long sniff before I move past it.  Lots of people do it, probably.  It helps me feel closer to- wait, damn it, no, that still sounds weird.  That is, uh… I mean, if they wanted to sniff my bed I would totally let them, and- okay that sounds even worse.  Can we… just forget I said anything?

The team: 

Tane the Dartrix Male, Timid nature, Overgrow ability Level 28 Tackle, Razor Leaf, Astonish, Pluck 

Rhea the Trumbeak Female, Lax nature, Keen Eye ability Level 27 Pluck, Roost, Fury Attack, Rock Smash 

Ashley the Pikachu Female, Timid nature, Static ability Level 27 Volt Tackle, Hidden Power (Ice), Nasty Plot, Thunder Wave 

Hypatia the Slowpoke Female, Hardy nature, Own Tempo ability Level 27 Confusion, Yawn, Headbutt, Scald 

Soot the Raticate Female, Hardy nature, Hustle ability Level 27 Crunch, Tail Whip, Hyper Fang, Focus Energy 

Joanna the Salandit Female, Timid nature, Corrosion ability Level 27 Flame Burst, Sweet Scent, Dragon Rage, Smog