barring emergencies

[the_very_best]

Bella's not sure where she has wandered. She thought she was about to walk into a shop, but this appears to be an unattended bar. With none of the windows associated with the shop she thought she was entering. It could be an elaborate psychic assault of some kind, but it doesn't feel very... assault-y... and she was in the middle of a town and doesn't think any humans want to sic their 'mon on her. It's strange. She approaches the bar, looking around warily, hand hovering near her belt.

with Max (Benedict)

with Earth and Lightning (kappa)

with Ann and Sabrina (kuuskytkolme)

Comments

[can_i_stay]

"So now we just need to keep ourselves entertained, the door will come back sooner or later. Bella, you don't happen to have a deck of cards or something like that with you?"

[the_very_best]

"No, just my Pokétch and notebooks and field equipment."

I can loan you a deck of cards, if you like, says the bar.

"Oh, neat."

[can_i_help]

"Nice. Do you know the rules to Kalooki or Cassino?"

[the_very_best]

"Nnnnnope. And I'm betting you don't know Cloyster Catch or Ten Bugs."

[can_i_help]

"Never heard of them. In that case we have two options, are you in the mood for learning or explaining?"

[the_very_best]

"I'll learn something, why not."

[can_i_stay]

She hears the rules to Cassino.

"Usually the easiest way to teach this to novices is to play a few games with everyone's hands on the table face up."

[the_very_best]

"Sure."

And with borrowed cards they play cassino.

[can_i_help]

The first few games go to Bella by a wide margin. The sisters are too busy sabotaging each other to pay any attention to her cards.

After the third loss Sabrina sighs.

"This is not how it's supposed to be played. Are you ready to play blind, Bella?"

[the_very_best]

"I think so."

[can_i_stay]

Games are played, won and lost. After a while...

"I think I'm getting hungry enough to try my luck with a free drink from the magic bar."

[the_very_best]

I also serve food, mentions the bar, when she approaches, but only the first beverage is free.

[can_i_stay]

"Oh, food, even better. Can I please see the menu?"

[the_very_best]

I serve everything. There is no need for menus, replies the bar primly.

"What does stuff cost?"

Reasonable currency-dependent prices.

"Hmmm."

[can_i_stay]

"Okay, then a chicken sandwich with Parmesan cheese, please. I have cash. Actually I'll also take my free drink. Jasmine tea if I can choose what I get."

[the_very_best]

Of course you can choose your drink. Your sandwich will be $3.55.

Here is the sandwich! It is on nice toasty crusty bread and the cheese is melting and there is also a pickle spear on the side. And here is the tea.

"Can you charge my Pokétch?"

Yes.

"I would like a loaded omelette, I'm not picky but no meat," says Bella, "and a lemonade."

¥130. And here is the omelette, full of cheese and leeks and bits of crispy potato and tomato.

[can_i_stay]

Ann takes the sandwich and her tea, sits down next to Sabrina and bites down.

"This is literally the best sandwich I've ever eaten."

[can_i_help]

"That's nice. I'm bored again."

[the_very_best]

"You do drinks and food and cards," says Bella, after taking two happy bites of her omelette while sitting at the bar, "what else do you do?"

More or less anything that is nonmagical, nonliving, harmless, and medium-sized.

"...Ooh."

[can_i_help]

"Oh come on, this is where I draw the line. There's no such thing as a categorically harmless thing. You can strangle a person with almost anything, you can break a glass and use it as a knife, you can bludgeon a person to death with anything hard. A candy bar can be used as a killing weapon if the victim is allergic to nuts."

[the_very_best]

There is still a difference between a knife and a candy bar, which I enforce when selling things.

[can_i_help]

"Okay, can you sell me a Pokémon?"

[the_very_best]

Pokémon are alive, so no.

"What about a Porygon?"

Still alive in the relevant sense.

"I mean, if you just want a 'mon, any 'mon - Bar, can you do currency exchange?"

Yes.

"I could lean out the door and yell at passers-by that I'll pay some ridiculous amount of money for any critter at all, but if you're from another world I'm not sure if you can train them, at least not without being really picky about the 'mon's personality. People vary in how many they can get to recognize as their trainer at once. Six is the maximum, everybody can do at least one - but that's everybody in my world. If I hand you some random Zigzagoon it might get confused and attack you."

[can_i_help]

"The way you talk about it sounds like it's not super useful. It'd just end up as Lucy's cuddle buddy, and if Lucy needs a cuddle buddy she can already dogsit. What I want is results."

[the_very_best]

"What kind of results do you need a 'mon for?"