superordinary | 5th rebuttal; video

[ The feed flickers on to Naegi, who appears to be somewhere in Ice Path at the moment. The cave wall behind him is white with snow and ice and his breath is turning into mist in the chilly air. His hood has been pulled up so far over his head that it casts a shadow, making his face seem darker than it actually is. Fuck the cold, man.

The coat he's wearing is sticky with a thick layer of goo and the culprit behind it is none other than the ~~Goomy~~ Bloober he's cradling in his arms. Said Bloober has been wrapped in a towel, effectively making it look like some kind of slimeball burrito. ]

So what have you guys learned about our, um, slimy friends so far? Ishimaru-kun and I are helping this guy here through Ice Path and so far we...don't really know much about it. It doesn't seem to like the cold very much which could mean it's part Grass.

[ That's...a reasonable assumption to make, right? Flying's out of the question and he's pretty sure dragons aren't tiny slimeballs. Then again, it looks nothing like a plant... ]

Or it's just better suited for warmer places? It resembles a slug and I think gastropods are cold-blooded so maybe that's why it doesn't like this place. I don't think Johto is its natural habitat at all...

[ There's a pause as he shifts the Bloober around in his arms. There's one last thing he wants to ask. ]

Anyway...we'll be in Blackthorn in a few days, hopefully, so I was wondering what's worth seeing there? We're going there for the hot springs but I want to see the other things the city has to offer.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well they don't know Water Gun, I can tell you that much. I thought they might be at least part water type and that's a pretty basic water type move. [He shrugs.] But no dice.

I think grass type could be a pretty reasonable guess though. They don't exactly...look like a plant or anything but with as much as they love water, it wouldn't surprise me if they were at least dual typed.

[Absolutely nobody is going to guess dragon type, are they?]

Bubble's kind of basic too, isn't it? Sometimes this guy burps, and bubbles come out of its mouth... [ Do burp bubbles even count as a move? Naegi has no idea. ]

Maybe it's Grass/Water...but Water resists Ice...

Oh right...bubble. I didn't think of that one, but you're right, that's pretty basic too.

[He scratches his chin.]

I'm not so sure if it's part water anymore though, that was just my first thought because they need to stay wet. But aside from not liking the cold, they also...well when you actually fully put one in water they kinda like... [He gestures vaguely, seeming slightly stumped as to how to describe exactly what happens.] flatten? They don't really keep their shape and swim around like you would expect of a real water type.

I haven't seen them in water myself, but they don't look like they're able to swim very well. Seems kind of hard to when they're basically blobs? I know Pokémon tend to be kind of bizarre in comparison to normal animals, but if something's aquatic it usually looks the part with fins or gills.

[ Hmm. ]

Isn't there another slug-like Pokémon? One that's part Ground.

Yeah, Shellos and Gastrodon. Shellos is pure water if memory serves, but I know for a fact it's dual typed when it evolves. Rose inherited one after one of our friends left.

But yeah, you're right. Usually you can sort of guess what a Pokémon's type is. These guys though...

[Hmmm'ing intensifies.]

You think maybe they're a completely new and undiscovered type? I mean...something like that could be possible, right?

Like, a Slime-type or something? [ That's probably not it but it's the first thing he thought of. ]

That's what I was going to say! That or Goo type. Bloober, the Oozing Pokémon, all hail the herald of a new age of Pokémon typing.

[Great minds.........]

I'm not sure I want an entire type like that... There'd be a lot of slime to clean up.

Hehe, yeah, it would wouldn't it?

[Nobody needs that much slime.]

...actually, in retrospect this seems kind of like a "well shit why didn't you think of that sooner, genius?" but what if they're normal type? They don't really have any of the blatantly defining features of any other type and they're pretty neutrally colored, even.

...That would make a lot of sense. If that's the case, then it not doing so well in the cold might just be because they're in the wrong environment and have nothing to do with its type at all.

It's a possibility, at least. Ultimately, it could be either reason because they both make sense. I mean...when you step out of a shower, you're colder than you would be if you were dry, right?

And if these little guys are constantly slimy, I can see why they might not be crazy about extreme temperatures in either direction. Too much heat means they dry out, not enough means they freeze.

[It...makes sense to him, at least.]

But, on the other hand, typing can obviously account for the same thing when it comes to Pokémon.

Yeah, you're right. [ He sighs. ] This is going to bother me until I can figure out what exactly they are...

It's possible that their type isn't what you would expect at all, too. Sort of like Gyarados being part Flying and not Dragon.

Hmm...well you could always just start throwing different types of attacks at it. Then again, depending on how high leveled your Pokémon are, that might not make much of a difference...I'm pretty sure most of mine could knock out my Bloober even with a resisted move...

[Too many level 100s.]

I'll never understand how Gyarados isn't part dragon.

[Prepare to be even more confused when the truth about Bloobers comes out.]

Most of mine are pretty strong... it wouldn't feel right to throw attacks at it just for the sake of finding out its type.

[ It would just be a dick move to do that in his opinion. :( ]

And me either. I mean, it evolved from a carp so it really should be a dragon...

AH, THE NICE GUY PROTAG DILEMMA.]

What does evolving from a carp have anything to do with it? [Is this something he is Too American to know about? This is probably something he is Too American to know about.]

Ah, you're not familiar with the story? According to legend, a carp that succeeds against all odds in climbing up a waterfall transforms into a dragon.

Uh...nope, that's definitely a new one on me! Though that suddenly makes Magikarp make a whole lot more sense. In more ways than one, really. No wonder they're so hard to train...it's like a simulated waterfall.

Huh. The more you know!

I'm guessing that particular story isn't well known in America, then. And yeah! Just like the carp, a Magikarp has to keep trying to get anywhere... and in the end, it gets rewarded for its perseverance.

5th rebuttal; video

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;