How long have we been waiting for the sequel?

[soundmind]

Who: Maka + everyone that is interested in the book club gathering
Where: Goldenrod bookstore/cafe (bookafe?)
When: 1/1/16; mid morning
Summary: At long last Maka has decided to hold another official book club meeting; this time in Goldenrod considering it's more accessible to people in Johto. Naturally she's invited everyone that would be interested in coming and has set up transportation accordingly.
Rating: PG at the most I guess?? For language at worst, or really bad plot twists
Log:


[New year, new things to look forward to…new books to read, hopefully. Since it's not her own house, Maka doesn't have to set up too much except bringing what books she already owns and is able to carry. They're all gathered up at a table towards the back with a sign specifically posted up reading "Johto Chapter Book Club."

The couple that runs the shop has said they didn't mind the meeting taking place there, at least that's what Kaneki said and Maka trusts his word. It makes sense, anyway, if they're in a bookstore that's also a café, people can more readily get something to eat or drink that they want without any guesswork from Maka. As usual, she's prepared and made sure everyone who might be interested in coming is aware of it and able to have transport over, though Maka still doesn't have an actual idea of what they should be doing in the book club.

Suggestions and discussions might make sense, so if anyone asks she'll say that.]

Comments

[soundmind]

[You know what's probably not expected to join Dipper as company?

A Meowstic jumping up onto the table and peering over his notes.

This Meowstic is soon joined by Maka, who sets down a mug of hot chocolate on the table and takes a seat.]

Hey, glad you could make it. Sorry about Freya, she likes to read too, so I brought her.

[sneezelikeakitten]

[You know what's expected of this kid?

To freak out and fall almost out of his chair with a shriek.]

D-Don't do that!

[That's the third time he's been scared like this. When will it ever end?]

... she and Fluffy would get along great.

[soundmind]

[Freya frizzes up in shock, Maka does not, she just leans to the side to make sure Dipper doesn't actually fall over.]

Don't worry, she's harmless. Who's Fluffy?

[sneezelikeakitten]

[Fluffy peeks out from under the table with a dead stare.]

An Espurr that's been following me since Route 29.

[soundmind]

Oh!

[Maka actually looks delighted at seeing the little Espurr and holds out her hand to it to see if it'd like some scritches.]

Freya actually evolved from Espurr, her and her brother Loki. Meowstic look different depending on what gender they are, so you'll never have to worry about telling some of them apart.

[sneezelikeakitten]

[Fluffy just stares for a while longer before doing a slow-motion walk towards Maka.]

Is he going to get less creepy when he evolves?

[soundmind]

I guess that depends on your definition of creepy? I don't think they're creepy. [As evident by her lack of reaction to Fluffy's...progress.] Freya, can you get a picture of Loki to show him?

[Freya obediently darts off the table to retrieve Maka's Gear and float it up to the table, when she rejoins them she taps at the buttons to show a picture of her standing next to a male Meowstic. They still have the round eyes, but Loki's expression is mischievous in contrast to his counterpart's sternness.]

They have different moves depending on their gender, too, strangely enough. Freya's moves are more based on attacking while Loki's are based on defending.

[Of course she doesn't think they're creepy, this is the girl that wrote a novella about a demonic clown.]

[sneezelikeakitten]

It just stares. All. The. Time.

[That's a definition of creepy, Maka.

The picture of the male is interesting, and the female makes him think of French, fancy ladies.]

So the girls are stronger than the boys?

[He's used to that kind of thing. The girls where he's from are crazy strong.]

[soundmind]

Lots of cats stare, it's what they do.

[Apparently Dipper hasn't been around many cats. Maka has had many mornings where she's woken up with Blair sitting on her chest and just staring at her back at home.]

I wouldn't say that? Any Pokemon can be strong depending on how you strategize with them, but I guess if you're looking at it with base stats or whatever, then yeah?

[Maka's definition of strength isn't...based on stats.]

[sneezelikeakitten]

[No he hasn't. Goats and pigs, yes. Goats are weird and seem to be staring at everything in a "I know the secrets to the cosmos" kind of way.]

Strategy... right. Are there other Pokémon that change drastically depending on gender?

[If there is, is it worth it to catch one of each gender just to see the physical differences as well as the fighting capability? Do they have different temperaments? Different specialties like the Meowstic? Tell himmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!]

[soundmind]

If you mean in moves used like Meowstic, no, they're the only ones. If you mean in physical appearance, yeah, there are tons of Pokemon with that--kinda like real animals, some of them have little differences depending on their gender or look obviously different. They usually still share the species name, except one line--

[She'll pull up a comparison chart of a female and male Nidoran.]

These two start off with the name Nidoran, then--[She clicks to the next picture, they've obviously evolved with the female turning bipedal and the male becoming very spiky. They are labeled as "Nidorina" and "Nidorino" respectively.] Their names change, and then--[She clicks to the last one. The two have drastically changed; both are bipedal now and look as though they're armored. They are labeled "Nidoqueen" and "Nidoking" respectively.] That's their final evolution. Sometimes there are Pokemon that aren't labeled with a gender at all, like a lot of the ones that don't look like organic animals, and there are others that can only be male or female.

[A thought seems to strike her and Maka goes back to fiddling with her Gear.]

Oh! What's really cool is sometimes there are Pokemon that have different evolutions depending on their gender, too! [She turns the Gear around again to show him a Gallade and Gardevoir.] Gallade are all male and evolve by using a stone, but Gardevoir can be male or female and evolve as you level up your Kirlia. The same goes for Froslass and Glalie--Froslass is all female and evolves with a stone, but Glalie can be either and evolve through leveling.

[sneezelikeakitten]

[Dipper takes detailed notes on everything Maka has just said. This was all rather fascinating. Should he catch those Pokemon? Where would he even find it? Hmmm...

That Gallade one looks really cool. Like one of those Power Rangers!]

So where do I get these Pokemon?