Tag: replies

trainersofhoenn:

“How long have you been working on the storage system?”

“I’ve been with it since its inception, actually, so that would be—oh—several years now. My partner, a Kantonian named Bill, and I went to Celadon University together, and one day, he shared the original prototype of the system with me. Back then, it had a text-based interface and was nearly unnavigable, and I told him that under no circumstances could he release something like that to you poor trainers. He invited me to help him develop the system further, and I gave it a proper GUI and cleaned up his code a bit. The system saw a worldwide release only a few months after that.”

“Ooh, that sounds like a lot of hard work! Can you share what challenges you faced in implementing it?”

“Well, it was hard at first to convince people to want it in the first place!”

“Whoa, really?”

“Yeah. It’s a great idea, and the general public thinks so now, of course, but how do you explain it to people who have no background in quantum mechanics, engineering, or digital physics? I can’t tell you how many times my partner and I have had to convince others that the system is perfectly safe, that Pokémon don’t feel a thing when they’re transferred, that it’s impossible to delete or modify Pokémon as they pass through the system, and so on and so forth. If you can think of a question regarding whether or not Pokémon would be harmed as they pass through the system, I’ve had to answer it at least 10 times.

“And that isn’t even getting into the financial aspect of it. I won’t go into too many details about that for fear of boring you, but let me just say that convincing people to invest in putting a PC in every Pokémon Center turned out to be far, far more complicated than figuring out a way to turn living creatures into electricity and data.”

“Huh, I didn’t know that! But hey, since we’re on the subject… I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering this, but how does it all work? You know, the process of storing Pokémon?”

“Oh, I can’t tell you all the details, partly because some of it is a trade secret and partly because the full explanation may take more time than you’d probably like. Whenever any of us—Bill, myself, or the other administrators, I mean—whenever we’re asked this, we often compare it to a telephone. Basically, a telephone works by converting the sound of your voice into electrical pulses, sending those through a wire as electricity or through the air as radio waves, and converting those pulses back into your voice on the other end. The storage system works in a similar manner. The matter converter breaks down a Poké Ball, draws it into the digital matrix, and sends it into our cloud-based system until you specify a destination whenever you withdraw a Pokémon. There’s a bit more to it than that, but then we’d have to get into the nature of Pokémon and how it’s possible for them to perceive their surroundings, even in an electro-digital state such as the one they assume inside a Poké Ball, and that gets a bit messy.”

“It all sounds so complex and fascinating. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that I couldn’t imagine being a trainer without the storage system! Is there anything you want to say to all the trainers out there whose lives have been made easier because of your work?”

“Much of what we do isn’t for you; it’s because of you. So the first thing I’d like to do is thank our users, not only for using the system but also for going out, exploring the world, and discovering new and exciting things. In turn, you inspire us to create and explore, and with your help, we come that much closer to understanding the Pokémon we share the world with. And with that said, second, never stop being curious. Keep exploring, and keep befriending the people and Pokémon you meet.”

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Lanette’s dialogue was written by @bills-pokedex! Her blog is this awesome project where she writes Pokédex entries as the Pokémon researchers Bill and Lanette, and it also doubles as a platform for trainers to ask for advice! There was no one else I would’ve considered for writing the Lanette conversation, and after reading this, I’m sure you all see why. Be sure to check her blog out! 🙂

{Congratulations to @trainersofhoenn for two awesome years! As someone who lurks this blog like whoa, it was fun to collab with the voice behind Brendan and help celebrate a highly ambitious and creative fan project.

Also? If you’ve somehow never heard of this blog, give it a look! You know how Humans of New York is all about sharing the unique stories and struggles of the everyday human being? Trainers of Hoenn does very much the same thing, only it’s one person running it, and it’s all about Pokémon characters. You get a story on your dash every day, and each one adds depth and character to even the most ordinary-looking NPCs. It’s funny sometimes, it’s heartwarming at others, and it’s all-around fun, period.

Thanks to the blog’s mod for the collab, and congrats again for another year!}