Who: Peter/Ned/Alyssa What: explaining Pokemon to Alyssa Where: the portal When: first day of the plot Warnings: low Status: closed/g-doc
Alyssa had the day off work and texted Ned and Peter to see if they wanted to hang out. She missed them both and knew she hadn’t seen them as much as she should. To be fair, Alyssa felt like she kept flailing in this world made for humans, not for someone like Alyssa. If Kol wasn’t dating someone, she’d suggest the two of them go on a trip to get some violence out of their systems. And, she knew how happy Allison made Kol, so she sure as fuck didn’t want to get in the middle.
When the boys told her about the portal, she said she’d tag along, even if Pokemon made no sense to her. If people in her human life played Pokemon, Alyssa didn’t remember. Google didn’t help her much.
When she got to the portal entrance, she waited, wings and Netherling markings on full display as usual. However, Alyssa looked human previously, it escaped her now.
Ned thought she looked super cool in her Netherling form and if she wanted to rock it, then she should. He didn’t think he could ever pull off a look like that, but it wasn’t osmethinig he really had to worry about. He was excited for the portal and was talking excitedly to Peter as they walked towards the store. “I hope we run into Team Rocket. I want them to introduce themselves to me in rhyme.” Ned wondered if they’d actually be really scary or intimidating compared to the cartoon. They’d soon find out.
He saw Alyssa up ahead and gave a big wave. “Hey!”
When they talked like this, it felt the same way it did back home before Dr. Strange used his spell to wipe everyone's memories. Peter forgot how much he missed it. How much he missed Ned.
Ned wasn't the only one he missed; Alyssa's presence at the Bug House was missed too. Fortunately, they still all still made time to hang out together -- even if it were for something he wasn't sure was up Alyssa's alley, like Pokemon.
"Ready to catch some Pokemon?" he asked in greeting.
– Alyssa waved at Ned and Peter, a big smile on her face. They were her family after all.
“Why, precisely, does one have to catch them all? Are we catching them all?” Alyssa asked. “I’m ready to feel completely lost in this portal, but hey, that’s basically life these days.” At least she had these two, Bex, and Kol.
“Is there one in particular you want to find?”
Ned forgot that ever since Alyssa came back she wasn't really great with the pop culture anymore. That was fine, he was happy enough to fill her in.
"Naw, that's just Ash who wants to catch them all. I just want to catch one." Which one was a good question though. "Evee's too obvious an answer… maybe a, uh…" Ned looked up at the sky. "...I have no idea."
He looked back down at them, but then thought of something and looked at Alyssa excitedly. "Oh! Hey! Do you know there are insect and flower Pokemon? We could find you one of them?"
“Yeah, there’s no way we’re going to catch them all.” Even when there were 151 pokemon, it’d be a challenge; now that there were 898, it would be impossible. “Probably something small to start.” But Peter wasn’t sure what he wanted to catch. There were so many Pokemon out there – how could he choose one?
“Yeah, we should definitely find a flower or bug one for Alyssa,” he agreed. It was easy to decide on a type for Alyssa, given who she was. Peter wasn’t sure what “Type” fit him. Or Ned, either.
Alyssa felt slightly less overwhelmed knowing they weren’t going to catch them all at least. “Oh really? What do I do with it once I catch it?” She would certainly catch one with these two, but did it involve a lifetime commitment? And if so, how did one care for a Pokemon? Like, did she set out water and food like a housecat? And would Bex be annoyed?
“I’m sure I would be happy with a floral or insect one.” Alyssa looked at Ned and then Peter. “I take it you two don’t know what you want?”
“Uh… good question.” How DID you take care of a Pokemon in real life? Ned thought about it as they walked a little. “Pretty sure they’re just like a pet. Like food and exercise. You can keep them in the Pokeball too for a while like a crate.” Did Pokemon poop? Probably. It was probably just not something you drew in an anime.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if we caught like, a mew or something?” He looked at Peter, then translated for Alyssa. “It’s this super rare, but super cute Pokemon.” The likelihood was probably low. “You know what? I’ll be happy with whatever I get.” He nodded to himself and then smiled. Ned Leeds, the optimist. “If we want plant or bug, we should probably head into the forest, right?”
Peter nodded in agreement. “Either that or the tall grass, but the tall grass is probably going to be more itchy.” Maybe Peter should have chosen to wear pants, but it was so hot outside that they really weren’t an option.
Peter started meandering in that direction.
“I don’t know what Pokemon I want to catch, but if we’re walking about Pokemon we want to see, I’d really like to see Xerneas. They’re these colorful fairy-type stag-looking Pokemon – and legendary, so they’re pretty rare. Like Mew.” He said that for Alyssa’s benefit rather than Ned’s.
“You ever see Princess Mononoke? They look kinda like the forest spirit.”
Alyssa could probably take care of a Pokemon, but would she want to once she caught one? She didn’t know, but thankfully she didn’t need to decide yet.
“Well I hope you two catch whatever Pokemon your hearts desire. To the forest we shall go.” Alyssa liked forests anyway. They spoke to her in a way other places didn’t. She preferred forests to tall grass.
“Well, now I want to see a Xerneas. That sounds kind of amazing. No, I mean I don’t think so? If I did previously, it didn’t stick in my brain at all.”
"You know I'm more surprised we're not like suddenly cartoons? I was definitely picturing turning into a cartoon like a reverse Simpsons' episode." This was less disconcerting, but Ned kind of wanted to know what he looked like as a cartoon.
"At least the Pokemon art style isn't bad." Some people had some complaints about the old style, plenty of people had problems about the new style. Peter liked both. "I could definitely think of some cartoons I wouldn't want to look like."
But there was one thing that Peter did have a problem with that wasn't the Pokemon art style. "You really haven't seen it? Have you seen any Studio Ghibli films? Ned and I were watching My Neighbor Totoro when we were pretty small together."
“Peter, I had an existential crisis in Target over the existence of Aspirin. I don’t even remember movies Iwatched when Iwas little.” She sounded a bit frustrated.
“I probably did, but I don’t remember it. Movies don’t exactly exist in Wonderland.”
It’s not like she chose to not remember things.
Ned heard the frustration and went into Ned mode. He practically jumped in as soon as Alyssa ‘said’ the period of her last sentence. “Do you want to see them? They’re fun. Well, except one.” Grave of the Fireflies was very deep and depressing. “But you’d probably like them -” He paused. “Uh, I mean, if you want to see something that might feel a little like home? Like in Totoro there’s this bus, but it’s a cat bus? Like it’s a cat shaped like a bus that you ride inside of.” Ned was making hand gestures like that somehow would help with visualizing the cat bus.
Ack. Maybe Peter had said the wrong thing.
“Yeah,” Peter said, more tepidly than before. “Totoro’s a pretty cheerful movie. Same with Kiki’s Delivery Service. There’s definitely been some times in my life where I could relate to Kiki.” Like her not being able to do her magic.
It was right after he finished his line that an audible rustling could be heard from the grass.
Alyssa smiled at Ned, grateful he got it. “Sure. We can totally watch them. I’d be happy to watch them with you.” She didn’t have anything against the movies, of course. But it was the expectation, like something was wrong with her…when she already thought that on a daily basis in this place.
At the rustling, though, she stopped talking and whispered, “Do…we wait here?” Alyssa didn’t really know the protocol.
Ned would also point out a lot of people never watched them. Studio Ghibli movies were still kind of nerd movies even if they were more 'mainstream' than other animes.
"Uh… in the games you just walk in circles until one shows up, but that seems really weird now that you can hear one." He whispered back, for once remembering his whisper-voice. "In the phone game they sort of just… poof and you tap on them."
Was this helpful? No, not really.
“Well, normally you’d have to bring down its hit points with a Pokemon of your own, but since we don’t have any Pokemon, we probably have to hope that it’s not a really strong one. Anything that’s really strong will break out of its Pokeball immediately if you don’t bring down its hit points first.”
The grass rustled again and Peter stayed still. “Let’s see what it is,” he said quietly.
And then it emerged, small and black and red and looking wary. “Oh, it’s a Litten.” That’d be perfect for a first Pokemon. It was even one of the starter Pokemon in one of the games.
Peter pulled out a Pokeball and pressed the button on the front; it expanded slightly in his hand. “I’m going to give it a shot,” he said. He threw the Pokeball at the Litten, and it bounced off its head and landed nearby. The Litten stared back at them, nonplussed, and let out a meow.
Alyssa watched Peter. Interesting. And, no offense to Ned, more informative. “So, it didn’t work?” she whispered. She considered throwing one of her own balls, but then what? After she pressed a button and threw it, she closed her eyes, too nervous to see if it actually worked.
Ned was watching. “Uh…” Peter’s had been weak, but Alyssa’s? “Were you.. Aiming for the cat Pokemon? Because, uh….” Well, Alyssa had somehow hit a second pokemon that was not Litten. He had no idea what the hedgehog-like Pokemon was, but while Peter’s throw had whiffed it, Alyssa’s was currently rocking back and forth as it was in the process of catching Shaymin. He whispered to Peter. “Looks like Litten’s distracted. You should throw another one!”
Peter threw a second Pokeball at Litten; this time, when it hit its mark, a flash of light spilled out of it. When the light finally cleared, the only thing that remained was the ball. It quivered once, twice, and as it quivered the third time, Peter tensed in anticipation.
But then he heard the trademark click! of the Pokeball locking and excitement raced through him. It took almost everything he could to not race to the Pokeball in his growing excitement. He never thought he could be this excited, but after that he felt the same way he felt when he caught his first Pokemon in his first Pokemon game – but amplified times a thousand.
He just didn’t want his excitement to scare Alyssa’s Shaymin away, so he swallowed it down.
“If you give it another shot, I’m sure you can catch it,” he encouraged her quietly.
“No, I should probably keep my eyes open when I throw.” Without thinking too hard, Alyssa threw a second Pokeball and it landed where her first one landed before. “Do…I just keep throwing balls? Or do I need to do something else?” Alyssa felt really confused, but at least she knew this wasn’t something she forgot from before, which felt oddly comforting.
“Thanks Peter,” she whispered in return. She would not want to visit this portal with anyone besides Ned and Peter.
"Sometimes it takes a few throws to get them, yeah. It could just be that one's a higher level. You should totally try again." Ned nodded with conviction, wanting to encourage Alyssa.
There was movement to Ned's right. "Oh hey! A Ponyta!" He threw a PokeBall at it, though the Ponyta moved and it… went flying at a Psyduck. "Wait! No, no, no - " Too late. Ned had caught a Psyduck. Ned sighed.
“Yeah, it’s probably stronger than mine,” Peter said encouragingly. “Normally, you’d have to get their hit points down in order to –”
Peter was mid-explanation when he saw Ned throw his Pokeball and hit a familiar yellow beaked Pokemon.
“Was that a… Psyduck?”
Alyssa threw again and hit the same place. “So that’s a no on the Psyduck?” she whispered. Her Pokeball rolled around some more. “Fine.” This time, she stared at all the Pokeballs she threw as though she willed it to succeed. “Does it tell me somewhere how many hit points are left?” At least she didn’t use her powers. It hit again.
“Why not a Psyduck?”
“It’s uh…” Ned didn’t mean to not be excited, but psyduck was not really notorious for anything by lameness. “It’s a weird Pokemon. It always has a headache and is confused all the time? You’ll… probably figure it out when you meet it.” Though Ned would have preferred a ‘cooler’ Pokemon, he was also the sort of person who wasn’t about to abandoned an animal who was now essentially attached to him. He’d make it work.
“Hey, I think this time it’s working Alyssa!” Ned managed to keep his voice lower with excitement even if it went up a tad.
True enough, one of Alyssa’s balls hit its mark and light arced out of the Pokeball as it opened. Same as it had for Peter and for Ned before them, the creature disappeared, engulfed in that light and the ball fell neatly to the ground below. It shook, once, twice, three times and then –
Click!
“You caught it!” All three of them had managed to catch something. Yeah, it took (more than) a few tries, but they did it. Peter never thought in his life that he’d ever be able to catch a Pokemon outside of one of the Pokemon games, but here they were, doing just that.
There were plenty of times where the Dome did things that were mean or outright cruel, but… this was honestly one of the nicest things it had done since Peter got here, short of bringing May and MJ here.
And Peter was grateful for it.
Alyssa grinned. “Okay, this is kind of cool.” She didn’t think she’d keep the Pokemon, given she had zero idea what to expect and still needed time to adjust in the human world. But she liked how they all caught something.
She walked over to her ball, lifted it, and clicked the button, not sure what might happen next.
Once they all caught the Pokemon, Ned felt safe to stand and go retrieve his. He watched as Alyssa pressed the button and the very cute Pokemon came back out, seemingly happy to see her like they had been best friends all along. He knew Peter’s would be cool too. With a little sigh, he walked close to the group and did the same thing, releasing Psyduck. The duck Pokemon immediately reached for its head and tilted it, looking confused and said Psyduck?. “Yep.. you’re mine.”
Peter set a hand against the head of Ned’s Psyduck. Ned might not be psyched to get him, but Peter had to admit he was pretty cute.
Peter hit the button on the front of his Pokeball, releasing his Litten. It stood nearby, looking aloof… but given what Peter knew about Litten, that wasn’t entirely surprising. He resisted the urge to give it a scritch behind the ears; apparently Littiys weren’t very affectionate creatures. Maybe he’d be able to get it to warm up to him, but probably not on day one.
Peter glanced over at Alyssa and Ned. “Are you gonna give yours a nickname?”
Alyssa’s adorable hedgehog type Pokemon curled up in her arms. Oh God. She was going home with a Pokemon wasn’t she? Shit. Well, hopefully Bex didn’t mind the little thing too much. “Oh. Um.” Since she didn’t plan on keeping a Pokemon, Alyssa hadn’t considered a name.
But her Pokemon nestled in her arms. “Flora?” Alyssa couldn’t think of a better name at the moment.
It wasn’t that Ned hated Psyduck, it just wasn’t the Pokemon he’d have preferred. And yet he wasn’t looking to trade or get rid of him either since that seemed cruel. Pysduck had grown on Misty, right? So probably it would do the same for him.
“I think I’ll wait to see what he’s like.” As if in reply, the Pokemon gave out a pitiful psy. Ned looked at Alyssa. “Flora is cute though. I don’t think I actually remember too much about yours except that it’s cute. I bet you’ll be good at raising it though. You’re good with nature.”
“Flora is cute, and it fits her too.” For obvious reasons. “I think I’m gonna name mine Binx. It’s what I named mine when I first played Pokemon Sun. I named him after the cat in Hocus Pocus.”
“I like the name Binx.” Alyssa’s eyes widened. “I completely forgot about that movie. We are definitely having a movie night at Hollowe’en that includes Hocus Pocus.”
Her Pokemon hopped down and stayed near her. “I know we don’t need more Pokemon, but maybe we can explore a bit more?” Alyssa didn’t feel ready to go home yet.