"Maybe I can... edit that in to my translation software so it will... no, it will really be jarring either way."

"Um...sorry our world is like this?

...wow. Today in 'sentences I never thought I'd say'."

"It's not a big deal, please don't worry about it."

👍 "Okay!

Anyway, if you decide you want a Pokemon, the quickest way to get one here in Driftveil would be to talk to Clay, that's the local Gym Leader. If you don't like his selection, the next thing to try would be calling in one of the professors or their assistants."

"...what might there be not to like?"

"People often prefer species they find cuter. It's also common to want one that matches your preferences for physical environment? Like, if you enjoy swimming, you might specialize in Water-types so they can join you in the water."

"Oh. I am not particularly interested in swimming, I'm accustomed to living on a spaceship."

"On a fucking what."

Frank clears his throat.

"Sorry, um, what I mean to say is, you mean an actual interplanetary vessel, not an orbital space station?"

"Yes, I was a star cadet. We had to defend the border against another planet in our system."

"Another planet also inhabited by humans‽"

"One of many."

"Um. For context. The furthest we've been is the Moon, and until now we weren't aware of any dimensions where people have gone further. I think you could make a lot of money talking to researchers, if you know anything of how your technology works.

How long has it been since, um, I don't even know what milestone to use. Since people in your world first split the atom?"

Money rears its head again. "I don't know how to build a ship, nor exactly how old nuclear fission is though I guess I wouldn't be off by more than a couple hundred years."

Frank whistles.

"It's been a little under a hundred years since we first split the atom. Less than that since the first moon landing and first personal computers. Even, like, the simplified lies-to-children explanation of your ships might tip our physicists off to which of their grand theories is correct, or there could be trace substances in your blood that inspire our chemists to create something cool—but you can think about whether to share stuff like that later, when you're more settled. You don't owe us anything just cause the portal spat you out here."

"...If you say so."

"—sorry, I keep getting distracted. What else do you want to know about Pokemon?"

"How hard is it to take care of and train them?"

"Depends on the species and individual! The ones given out as starters are selected for easygoing personalities, they'll be fine emotionally as long as you don't actively abuse them. The Pokedex—that's an encylopedia of Pokemon, it used to have its own dedicated device but more and more phone brands are adding apps for it—has info on average food rations and daily time out of the ball that each species needs. Food for them is cheap, I'd say about a tenth the cost per day of feeding an adult human, unless you're springing for the really fancy stuff. Physical affection helps for building a bond and bringing out their full power, a good rule of thumb is at least five or ten minutes a day plus a minute after each battle. If you can't keep up with your Pokemon's needs—usually that's because you've acquired too many—you can put them in...people call it 'virtual reality' but it's really more of an extended space, like a giant shared Pokeball. It takes care of their food, space, and socialization needs intelligently and for free.

Training them—well, teaching commands is easy, only a few hours of effort for each one. Even the more, uh, intellectually challenged species have a good memory for them. The one part that people have trouble with sometimes is getting them to respect you enough to obey your judgment in battle. To avoid problems with that, stick to using ones you've caught yourself or that started out weak and grew with you."

"Is the - virtual reality - related to the thing where the pink one appeared out of nowhere? I was assuming that was a separate magical ability that one had."

"Nah, extended spaces are a human technology! We modeled them off this fruit called an Apricorn, it has space-warping properties. The most common one is a Pokeball," he says as he grabs one off his belt to hold up.

"We don't have that. Nor as far as I know Apricorns. Should I be confident that the - biosphere - here - is safe enough that the food will agree with me -"

"Hmmmmmmmm. Kellim thinks you're our kind of human, based on your nervous system, and the Heal Pulse worked on you. I'm not sure what else we could do to check, except maybe a genetic test?"

"Would that be fast enough that I could make it confidently to dinner or no?"

"Normally I'd say no because of all the bureaucracy you'd have to jump through, but I know someone who might know someone, you mind if I make a quick call?"