Sprout Tower

[sonrise]

Soon after Varian and his travel companion had arrived in Violet City, the tall, wobbling structure of Sprout Tower had caught the former's attention. He'd had to ask what was up with that, because it seemed like something must be wrong. It just didn't seem sound!

The answers he'd got weren't exactly reassuring, either. Apparently, the central support beam was built around a giant Bellsprout, thus the uneasy wobbles? That had only raised more questions from Varian-- What kind of material took on the flexible property of what it was built around? Was the Bellsprout still alive? How had it become so tall to begin with? None of those answers were any more satisfying.

Varian was looking a bit sulky as he came down the front steps of Sprout Tower to meet back up with Hunter, and he shook his head upon reaching the other teen.

"I know a lot of things here haven't made sense to me, but I really don't think they have any clue why the tower is like that."

Comments

[cardinaldirections]

There had been many, many unanswerable questions ever since coming here. How did they even get here? What was happening back home? Where did the meat actually come from?

How a tower can wobble but still remain upright wasn't one he'd been expecting but honestly, at this point one should really just expect anything, huh? So while Varian had gone off to explore the tower and figure out a bit more about it, Hunter had busied himself elsewhere in the city- well, it was more like a town, honestly. But he'd kept prompt to their agreement to meet back up, so there he was as Varian reappeared.

"You know somehow I'm not surprised? A lot of what I've gathered while walking around is that 'That's the way it is' seems to be the way they live their lives here."

Not that he said that in an offended tone, mind. To be quite honest he didn't know what to make of it. They just seemed to be going on at their own pace, in all their old ways. That was... good... right?

[sonrise]

Varian gave a snort, shrugging. It was hard for him to accept things the way the locals seemed to, he just liked to have some kind of explanation.

"I guess? But it's just frustrating, like all the magic back home that made no sense!" He glanced up at Hunter and held up a hand. "I mean, no offense."

[cardinaldirections]

"No no, it's fine. Different magic, different rules, right?" No need to tread all of- that -again.

Folding his arms, he looked up at the tower. "So, can we go up it?"

[sonrise]

Varian followed his gaze, and shrugged again. "No, only the first level is open unless you have the badge from this town."

He scratches his cheek in thought. So far his team is just three Pokemon, and while Conduction the Pachirisu would in theory do well in a gym he's learned is centered on flying types, he's just... So bad at battling. And even then, it sounds like only he'd be able to head to the upper floors.

"Did you find any interesting places?"

[cardinaldirections]

"Figures." It seemed like there was a lot in this world that needed badges to get done. What was so special about some little enamel pins, anyway?

"Yeah! Actually, I did find a couple places. There's someone here who makes Pokeballs the old way, and there's the trainer's school. -Oh! And that gym trainer you just mentioned, kinda, he puts on shows with his bird Pokemon every couple days."

[sonrise]

"Oh, nice!" Varian perked up at that list, smiling wide. "I wonder if the trainer's school would be a good place to get some tips on helping Conduction battle." A beat. "Although, heh, I don't know how interesting it'd be for a breeder. The other things sound cool, too, though. What sounded best to you?"

[cardinaldirections]

There was a small laugh in his voice as he spoke, clearly bouncing off Varian's excitement. "Actually, it'll help us both! I checked it out very thoroughly, and it includes material that covers both breeding and battling. I think it'll be most beneficial to our journey to start there."

[sonrise]

"Perfect!" Varian's grin only grew, with this feedback loop of enthusiasm. "Honestly, I'd like to learn a bit about that side of things, too. Some of the more basic care aspects have to come in handy, right?"

[cardinaldirections]

Hunter nodded, too caught up in the enthusiasm to really care about anything else.
"You know, I was thinking something similar. Training up better Pokemon would make the breeding better, right? So, it definitely works for both of us!"

[sonrise]

Varian nodded with a giggly little laugh.

"Yeah! It'll be great. Definitely better than checking out a tower that doesn't make any sense, anyway."

[cardinaldirections]

"Pfffbbht," he waved his hand, "it's way better than some weird old tower that won't even let you up all the way, without winning some arbitrary test!"