route_1065 | Boom Boom Boom Boomba

Entry tags:

Boom Boom Boom Boomba

Who: Kyouko Kirigiri (

freshprints) and Kiyotaka Ishimaru (

ardent)
Where: The Violet City Pokemon Center!
When: August 29
Summary: In which two super solvin' teenage crimebusters attempt to figure out what a Moomba is. Now contains SPOILERS for Dangan Ronpa.
Rating: G
Log:

[There is a Moomba in her PC.

That's the gist of the situation that Kirigiri's in right now, but while it's certainly the most significant detail of her current circumstances, it's also of course far from the only one. Some of those others include things like the fact that she's standing in the Violet City Pokemon Center at the moment — having finally made it to the city where her ~~friends~~ ~~classmates~~ friends have been waiting for her — or the fact that it's a rather nice day outside (albeit hot), or the fact that the tied-off end of her braid is brushing lightly against her leg as she unconsciously leans forward to examine this strange phenomenon she's been presented with. There's the chatter of the surrounding NPCs and other trainers filling the air, and the white noise of it all is doing its part to drown out the exhausting repetitiveness of the background music, which is assuredly appreciated by now. There's the faint beeping of machines, the clicking and clattering of shoes on flooring, and she is aware of all these things but it's not stopping her from fixating on the enigma that is the PC screen in front of her.

Or rather, the contents of her box that the PC screen is so helpfully indicating.

You see, it seems there is a Moomba in her PC. She is reasonably certain she did not put it there. She is likewise reasonably certain she has no idea what a Moomba is. Her PokeDex has been surprisingly unhelpful; presumably a Moomba would fall neatly between Monferno and Mothim, alphabetically speaking, and yet there is no sign of such a creature in the Dex at all.

Yet here in front of her, the PC is indicating that there is a Moomba inside.

She does not know what a Moomba is.

She does not know how it got there.

And therefore, this assuredly is a mystery, all right.

(Realistically speaking, it's one she might well stand there contemplating all day, should a timely intervention not arrive.) ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ishimaru has been working in the Pokémon Center in Violet City for some time now; usually he sticks to the back, filing and doing paperwork and generally managing to be efficient despite the repetitive and quite honestly completely boring nature of the task - he doesn't mind the tedium, though, and the general rhythm to it all gives him time to sort through his thoughts as well as the paperwork. Sometimes, however, he's brought into the front; he's still not a master of social grace but he can definitely comprehend that when someone very heavily states that there's someone out front who looks like they need help, he should probably do something about it. Today is one of those days; apparently there's someone out at the PC who's staring at it like they've never seen it before, and since this world is often full of newcomers that are completely technologically-challenged, it might very well be that this person has, in fact, literally never seen one before.

Right. Out he goes. This actually isn't uncommon, given how early into most newcomers' paths they are, and he's far from annoyed; at any rate, there are things he's come to expect from these sorts of experiences, and things that he definitely has not.

The Sort of Person Kiyotaka Ishimaru Is Expecting:

1. literally medieval and therefore weirded out by the machine,
2. from a world that was not completely backwards but did not have computers and therefore fascinated by the 'w' key,
3. previously some sort of animal and therefore still learning to walk upright and trying to get used to, y'know, having thumbs.

The Sort Of Person Kiyotaka Ishimaru Is Not Expecting:

1. Kirigiri.

To be fair, Ishimaru doesn't usually expect Kirigiri, simply because Kirigiri is quiet and a bit of a loner in his experience, and they'd had no reason to talk much back in Hope's Peak - at least, not at his current point on the timeline, and somehow he doubted that would change much unless she proved to be The Psychosis Whisperer and managed to have some sort of breakthrough with Ishida, and given Kirigiri in general, somehow he doubted that. Not that he blames her.

Anyway, however, the surprise is actually a pleasant one, and he just grins and quickens his pace a bit as he comes to join her and omg classmate.]

Kirigiri-kun! It's good to see you!

[...that said, what are you...doing. You are not medieval and he's pretty sure you're used to having thumbs, so...]

Is the machine not working correctly? I can try to get someone to fix it for you, if that's the case!

[...Oh, it's Ishimaru. That's right, he does work here — a thing she'd at least been aware of, even if it wasn't forefront in her mind when she came in. He came here frequently, probably putting in the maximum hours possible (as expected of Ishimaru-kun), and presumably this is the means by which he was able to finance that very nice care package he'd sent her way back when she was in Cherrygrove. Right, then. Okay. Yes, all is as it should be with respect to that particular sliver of the universe.

All is not right, however, with the PC screen, and she points a finger at it as she straightens up to look at him, face impassive and voice steady.]

It says there's something in my PC.

[She explains, without preamble.]

A Moomba.

[Both of which are things he will assuredly be able to ascertain for himself just by looking at the screen; hopefully, he can likewise figure out if this is indeed a malfunction of some variety, and if not...then what the gently caress is a Moomba, anyway?]

[Well, it's nice to see you t-

...wait what]

A Moomba.

[You know, it's fairly rare for Ishimaru to sound...well, anything but 'really shouty', but you may have actually pulled skepticism from him here just because what in the good gentle caress are you even talking about - just let him lean forward and try to see what you're looking at...]

...Huh. That is what it says, yes!

[O...kay, so what do we do with this

you're the deuteragonist what now]

[Excellent. We've now established that there is...in fact...a Moomba in there.

...

Okay, so it's a start. WHERE DOES THE LOGIC TRAIN LEAD NEXT...]

I didn't put it there.

[Excellent, good, let's just establish the rest of the flagrantly obvious facts so that everyone is on the same page here...]

I didn't make arrangements with anyone to send me one, either.

[...]

So either the machine is broken, or someone in this place has just decided that you need to have a Moomba for reasons unknown, whether good or bad. Is that about right?

That seems to be the case.

[Given that yes, that sure is a Moomba all right. Right there. In the PC.]

Naegi-kun said he found a Pokemon in his PC a short while ago, also. He also had no idea of where it had come from or how it had gotten there. Could it be some sort of glitch?

...Possibly, but I don't know - I'd think that this would have been covered in our training if a glitch like this was something that happened frequently!

[Hm.]

Well, retrieving it from the system is one way to check - the information on the Pokémon that you can get from the 'Dex should tell you who the original trainer is, in case it was some sort of mistake, and obviously if it's some sort of display problem you shouldn't be able to do anything with it.

There is no such thing as a Moomba in the Dex.

[Which isn't precisely a contradiction of anything he's said, just her need to point out the fact that she'd put in the natural legwork trying to figure out this mystery herself already, thank you. There is one SHSL Crimebustin' Princess in this encounter, and it is not Ishimaru.

So there.]

You think it's prudent to take it out?

[thank you for your input Kirigiri-kun that was very valuable]

If you have other ideas, I'd like to hear them - but for now, yes, I think it's likely the best option!

[Wow excuse you everything she says is valuable maybe you're just too oblivious to appreciate it.]

Mm.

[Here goes nothing, then; she unceremoniously ~~shoves Ishimaru's dead weight out of the way~~ steps into position to access the PC and taps briskly at the screen, selecting the Moomba (?) and ordering the machine to dispense.]

Ah...!

[wow rude

thankfully he's not-catatonic enough to move, otherwise that would have been kind of uncalled for!!

...that said, however, at least the machine seems to be working properly. Let's look at this Moomba of yours, Kirigiri-kun.]

[When it spits out the Pokeball in question, she takes it and regards it for a minute, holding it palm-up the way one might hold an apple, like she's seriously considering dusting the case for fingerprints or some other sign of who might be responsible for this.

Maybe she is; there's really no way of knowing.]

...

[And then she lets the ball fall from her fingers, only the slightest hint of an arc present to justify even calling it a "toss" in the first place, and takes a step back to wait as the traditional bright light flashes and—

OH GENTLY CARESS GIANT MASS OF FUR AND WHAT WAS THAT NOISE THAT JUST SOUNDED LIKE A DEEP GROWLY BASS HALF-HOWL BELLOWING "LAGUNAAAAAAAA"]

[...

WHY.]

W-Well, that's...!!!

[definitely something kind of terrifying BUT WHY THO]

...I don't know what a Laguna is, but I'm pretty sure that's not the species name, either!!

[#winning]

[WELL, UNFORTUNATELY FOR OUR HEROES, Moomba does in fact know what a Laguna is! Laguna is, of course, his trainer.

...who is decidedly not here.

And therefore, following a cursory inspection and sniff of the people in his midst, Moomba is going to do what any prudent massive flame hound would do in his shoes (paws?) and ExtremeSpeed straight out the door to go look for him. Because he is a good boy.

Of course, that leaves Kirigiri and Ishimaru, decidedly...not...aware that all this is happening.]

It's getting away—

[She ducks down quickly and retrieves the Pokeball from the floor, trying to get it situated in her hand so she can recall the— Moomba, apparently, before it makes it out the door.]

Yes, I see that!! You need to recapture it, we're violating so many basic conduct protocols it's ridiculous -

[BECAUSE CLEARLY THAT IS WHAT MATTERS HERE]

...And I would do it myself, but I don't know if you even can capture another trainer's Pokémon - so move quickly, come on!

[There is a moment — a brief, fleeting moment — where Kirigiri actually doesn't move, and a master of social nuance would probably be able to read that touch of pause (not hesitation, just pause) as something to the effect of, "But I'm the deuteragonist and everything is supposed to go precisely according to my keikaku so why am I the one getting stuck with chasing this giant hairy thing that is apparently a Moomba when you are the side character in this equation isn't this your job."

But fortunately, there are no masters of social nuance here, and so that brief unspoken soliloquy goes by the wayside in favor of the ensuing whip of her hair and thumping of boots against flooring as she proceeds to haul ass out the doors in the hopes of catching up with this damn thing before it manages to complete its getaway.]

[Look, normally he would gladly try to capture it but the fact is that this isn't his Moomba, and besides a little hard work won't kill you, Kirigiri-kun.]

And no running indoors, Kirigiri-kun!!

[Never mind that his own pace isn't exactly relaxed himself; he needs to make sure that this isn't going to, well, actually manage to kill you somehow. ~~Because we're Dangans and it's practically in our contract to get killed off in new and humiliating ways.~~

All right. Capturing a Moomba. Let's do this thing.]

[...the gently caress do you expect her to do, walk solemnly to the door and THEN start running?]

Not now, Ishimaru-kun.

[He really should be careful, too, because at the speeds she's taking these corners, that braid in her hair is quickly turning into a whiplike hazard all its own.

Once outside, however, it's a relief to note that the Moomba has not actually gotten that far — or at least, not as far as it theoretically could have, considering how big it is and how fast it can run. He is, after all, looking for his trainer, which involves a great deal of snuffling at things and poking his big wet nose all over the place.

Which means Kirigiri proceeds to sight her target, takes aim with the ball (despite how incredibly stupid this is), and—

...

Out of range, evidently.

gently caress.]

[You can walk quickly!!

...that said, however, hopefully now that they're outside they can get this under control quickly enough and get back inside before he can get yelled at for quite simply bolting out of the... cen...ter...]

...For a target that large, I didn't think it would be quite that easy to miss.

[She gives the Pokeball a light whack with the heel of her free hand, because obviously percussive maintenance is always the go-to option for malfunctioning technological wonders of this nature. Then, satisfied, she takes aim and tries another shot—

Still nothing.

Meanwhile, Moomba's setting off again and the laser mystery still has not been solved, which obviously means she's just going to have to work on both at the same time.]

I didn't miss.

[And she's working on precisely why as she heads off running again, taking aim and firing at tree trunks and the sides of buildings as she goes, eyes slightly narrow as she gauges the distances and outcomes.]

[Oh bullshit, you didn't miss. If you didn't miss, we wouldn't still be chasing your Moomba.]

You have to lead the target, Kirigiri-kun - don't focus on where it is, focus on where it's going!

[Her next shot takes Ishimaru dead-center in the forehead, thank you (which comes with really unfortunate third-party implications when you consider the allusion to laser sights and unused murderschool executions, but fortunately even with all of Kirigiri's hax, she couldn't possibly be aware of that), but she doesn't bother to spare him an accompanying glance because there are things that are obviously more important than acknowledging Ishimaru's stupid face right now.]

The ball has a finite range. It's not a question of aim, it's a question of distance.

[Obviously.]

[Did you just - ]

And that would be why people actually throw the ball, they don't just remain in one spot and let the beam do all the work!!

I'm not Kuwata-kun.

[Don't even start, Ishimaru, what happens if she throws the ball and it ricochets off or something, then she has to waste time going to get it and that's just stupid.]

Neither is anyone else here!

[...]

Well, outside of - you know what I meant, the point is that if other people can work it out, then I don't see why you can't!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject