POPULAR: Simple Questions, Simple Answers

[Beth Pavell]

A block of dialogue can be interesting! The other night, I read a chapter of The Secret Commonwealth where a guy exposits a cultural myth for three solid pages of uninterrupted monologuing. And it was fun!

In hope so, because I haven't been able to bring myself to start it after La Belle Sauvage

 

[Nitro Indigo]

What would Pokémon use to write with in the Mystery Dungeon world?

 

[Daren]

What would Pokémon use to write with in the Mystery Dungeon world?

I've actually been wrestling with this myself.
Pencils and pens probably exist and could be used pretty easily by a number of Pokémon. Those who don't have the right body shape (like Seviper having a customized "save Zangoose" letter in the first game) probably either have friends write for them or hire an amanuensis (someone who writes for someone else). I wouldn't be surprised if the post office does that, actually; you dictate the letter and they write it out for you.

 

[Greninjaman]

I've actually been wrestling with this myself.
Pencils and pens probably exist and could be used pretty easily by a number of Pokémon. Those who don't have the right body shape (like Seviper having a customized "save Zangoose" letter in the first game) probably either have friends write for them or hire an amanuensis (someone who writes for someone else). I wouldn't be surprised if the post office does that, actually; you dictate the letter and they write it out for you.

That makes sense.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

@Beth Pavell I thought LBS was alright. You didn't care for it?

Regarding the toopic of pokémon writing, I expect they might use pots of dye or ink with accompanying quill pens. However, the PMD world doesn't seem like a society with abundant literature, more like a premodern culture with low literacy rates. Meanwhile, "trainer world" pokémon don't strike me as literate, ever. Save perhaps for TR Meowth.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I asked this because Sunflora and Bidoof have diaries in Explorers, and I wanted Sunflora to draw things to make some exposition more interesting.

 

[Daren]

Regarding the toopic of pokémon writing, I expect they might use pots of dye or ink with accompanying quill pens. However, the PMD world doesn't seem like a society with abundant literature, more like a premodern culture with low literacy rates. Meanwhile, "trainer world" pokémon don't strike me as literate, ever. Save perhaps for TR Meowth.

Yeah, PMD is very pre-modern (except maybe the TMs) world. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the letters you get with missions are dictated at the post office or somewhere else.

Although Meowth using a book to help teach himself to talk suggests he was already literate, oddly enough. I'm not sure if we see any other Pokémon reading in the anime or not, though (there's over a thousand episodes so it might have happened somewhere I can't remember or didn't see), but Meowth not only learning to talk but enough engineering to help build mecha and other high tech devices suggests either most Pokémon have vastly more educational potential than they get or he's special (there's evidence both ways, really--we saw highly competent Pokémon chefs, but Meowth once seemed to suggest that learning to talk took up move slots so maybe Pikachu could get an advanced degree if he didn't mind giving up Iron Tail).

For the normal game-verse I'm not sure. I think I lean towards the higher end of how smart I think most Pokémon are (I think Sw/Sh back me up on this one) but literacy I'm not sure about. I bet some would be capable of it if they tried, though.

 

[Greninjaman]

People are allowed to post non-Pokemon stories right?
Just want to clarify that.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

People are allowed to post non-Pokemon stories right?
Just want to clarify that.

Yes.

 

[Greninjaman]

Yes.

Thanks.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

In one of my current fanfics, a Starly and a Bounsweet will go into the jungle and get attacked by some wild Pokémon, and then a Steenee will come to the rescue. What should the wild Pokémon be?

 

[KrspaceT]

In one of my current fanfics, a Starly and a Bounsweet will go into the jungle and get attacked by some wild Pokémon, and then a Steenee will come to the rescue. What should the wild Pokémon be?

How are a Starly and a Bounsweet sharing the same habitat?

....I'd do a bigger bird or a bug-type myself (perhaps a Pinsir)

 

[Nitro Indigo]

They were teleported there.

I don't like your suggestions. I was originally considering Ariados, but it wouldn't make sense for Bug/Poison/Flying types to be defeated by a Steenee drop-kicking them. The type chart exists in my fanfic's 'verse.

EDIT: I decided upon Nuzleaf.

 

[Daren]

I've run into an issue where I need to find good terms to separate Pokémon living similar to the ones we see in Mystery Dungeon (houses, towns, currency, "don't eat other Pokémon" as a general conduct rule) from those acting basically like wild ones.

My first thought and placeholders are just "civilized" and "wild", but I'm a bit unsure, especially of "civilized". I considered "village Pokémon", "town Pokémon", or something similar for the first type, but not all actually do live like that--there'd be "human like" ones living off alone.

Of course the two groups may refer to themselves with different terms than the other group uses when talking about them, ("Wild" ones can still speak to other Pokémon and are pretty much just as intelligent as the others, if usually not educated in the same way, but they haven't taken human social trappings and technology--the divide is explained in the setting) as there's a good amount of unease and in many cases dislike of each other.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

For civilised mon, some alternatives: urban, civil, lawful.
For wild mon, some alternatives: feral, outlander, lawless.

 

[Daren]

Thanks a bunch! I like those suggestions.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Hi, I need some help with my beta series "Chaos Rising". As I stated in the "What did you write today" thread, Chapter 22 became the end of Season 1 for Chaos Rising. Stuff is still subject to change, so it won't see the light of day just yet, but now I've hit bit of a roadblock.

I need some ideas for upcoming arcs in the series (Season 2 onward). There will be a brief island adventure arc next that ultimately ends in an Infinator attack, and much later on there will be the Chaos Chimera arc, but I'm coming up blank with stuff to put in-between. Zuzu will join the main cast during that time, so that is already in place, but I can't think of anything else good to include in between the island and Chaos Chimera arcs. I'm not looking for filler arcs, mind, but some stuff that'll be important to the main story, like events that build up the final battle or things like an old villain returning for revenge. Stuff like that. Does anyone have any ideas that might make for a good arc? Thanks in advance.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I'm writing a scene where someone comes up with a binomial name for Glaceon. Are there any Greek/Latin affixes that have to do with the cold? Wikipedia doesn't list any.

 

[canisaries]

I'm writing a scene where someone comes up with a binomial name for Glaceon. Are there any Greek/Latin affixes that have to do with the cold? Wikipedia doesn't list any.

Cryo.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

How did that slip my mind?