phdepression | Pokegear Inbox

[Joseph's still figuring out texting - much like telegrams, it feels rude to send a messages when you could call people. So Jotaro gets a call instead where Joseph sounds like he's actively struggling.]

Hey, listen, Jojo- [no, that feels weird] -Jotaro, do you know how to keep Pokemon in their balls? I just got a new cat, and I taped her ball shut, but she still keeps- stop that, I'm not feeding you again.

[In the background, a Skitty can be heard shrieking her demands. And, more faintly, Rush is laughing at them.]

[Jotaro prefers texting because he can choose to ignore the message, claiming he'll respond to it later. While theoretically he could do the same for a call, the ringing sets a different sort of expectation. But when Jotaro sees the call is from his young grandfather, picks it up and then... sighs.]

It depends on the Pokemon, gramps. But tiring them out is always a good way to keep them in a ball. You can do it by battling with them or just letting them play for a bit.

...You've seen how those balls can open and fit different sized Pokemon in them. So why the hell did you think tape would work?

I don't know, I thought it had to open to let them back out! But apparently, they can just come out through the button.

[How was he supposed to know that was an option??]

I don't think Mitzi gets tired. She just wants to eat and play all the time- I'm not gonna have money to feed myself at this rate!

[The screaming in the background continues, followed by the sounds of a struggle as Joseph tries to keep his PokeGear up to his ear while also keeping Mitzi out of his backpack.]

Usually, you do. But it would be an awful situation for the Pokemon if they were stuck there - Pokeballs usually are for both the trainer's and the Pokemon's convenience.

[He'll be real, he didn't know it was an option too.]

Does she eat a lot? Quantity wise?

Well, I'm not letting her eat everything I have - she definitely would be if she got her way.

[Joseph tries to put Mitzi back into her ball, just for her to come straight out again. He just lets out an exasperated sigh, and lifts her up with one hand so she can't get into more trouble.]

'Mom' barely gave me any money, and everything is so expensive here... [Conversion rates are a headache, especially coming from a time where a soda was 5 cents.] And Rush still isn't playing nicely so we can't battle for cash quite yet. I'm worried I'm going to run out of food for them before we're anywhere near ready to travel.

You may be able to ration out the same meal for longer if you give it to her in parts. It'll make her less likely to be ravenous if she eats constantly. Get her into a schedule.

[Jotaro frowns and crosses his arms, mulling the situation over.] It is rough when you first start out but there are lots facilities that help new Trainers. Your money should get you at least to a Pokemon Centre where it's free accommodation and food. And the people in Cherrygrove's PokeMart often give out free samples. Then there's berries and the like you can find in the wild. Almost everything is safe in this world, you should have no problem foraging.

Is Mitzi any good for battling yet?

That is all very smart... I should be calling you more often, Jojo. Hmm.. no, wait - Jojo Jr.

[He came so close to sounding genuine, but he can't help himself.]

She's... well, she likes battling. She's definitely better at listening than Rush, but uh... I haven't been training her as much.

[Jotaro stares blankly at Joseph and is quiet for a good, long moment.]

Call me JoJo Jr and I will keep calling you 'gramps'.

[Even though his face doesn't show it, he get his grandfather is being genuine. At least he's easy enough to read when it comes to that.]

Take turns to train them and occasionally make them train together. It'll be good for them to work as a team. Who knows, maybe Rush may cooperate more if he sees how well training with Mitzi goes.

Jojo 2, then. Everyone likes a sequel.

[No he will not let this go, nor will he accept being Gramps forever.]

No, they don't. [Jotaro, please.] Jotaro's fine. Or Doctor Kujo if you're feeling formal.

[It feels strange. Usually, his grandfather would call him JoJo, not claim the nickname for his own. But he can't blame Joseph for this, he supposes.]

Fine, Jotaro. You really are no fun at all.

[He's definitely not calling him Dr. Kujo, for any reason. It conveys a level of respect for his grandson that he does feel, but is physically incapable of showing.]

Good grief... [Jotaro just gives Joseph a shrug. He's not known for being fun anyway.]

Did you need anymore help? Or can I go back to training?

[There is a pause here, because Joseph didn't have anything else, but he does just want to talk.]

Oh, right - Emporio told me a bit about the world back home... didn't understand all of it... but I did want to ask you- uh... how did we get along, back home?

[He's picking his words somewhat carefully, because he knows himself. There's bound to be at least a few answers he doesn't like.]

[That surprises Jotaro a little bit. He supposes it shouldn't have (a lot of movies with time travel always have characters asking that question) but Jotaro figured that Joseph wouldn't care about it. He mulls the question over for a moment, before he shrugs.]

Depends when you're talking about. When I was your age? We got along poorly. Considering you lived in America and I didn't, I didn't know you very well at all. But after our round the world trip... We got along well enough. You started going a little senile when I was in my late twenties but you still remembered me. Which was nice.

[Jotaro's poker face is hard to beat... but he's not trying to hide anything. He probably just needs more prompting on Joseph's part.]

[Joseph is quiet, considering this carefully. Even without most of the context, he can imagine his older self taking issue with the fact that Jotaro and his parents aren't in America. Especially if whatever he ends up doing after saving the world makes him too busy to travel.]

Given our family history, I can assume the world trip wasn't a fun vacation. There's always something. [His tone softens, and he looks visibly uncomfortable with the moment of sincerity.] I guess I can't expect us to be best friends, but... you seem like you grew up well.

... Some parts were fun. A lot of it wasn't. [Jotaro hesitates whether or not to explain more. On one hand, it doesn't matter if he says something because Joseph hasn't experienced it. On the other hand, there's no harm in mentioning it because it doesn't matter.] But it ended up fine in the end.

[Jotaro pauses. He's also surprised at the sincerity but he smiles softly.]

My childhood was great. Can't fault you or my parents. [The rest of his life though... well... Jotaro wouldn't say the same but he's not gonna tell Joseph that. Not relevant.]

[It is a nice moment.

Unfortunately, the level of sincerity is starting to make Joseph uncomfortable, so he can't help making a joke.]

Well, of course you can't fault me. I never do anything wrong.

[Jotaro rolls his eyes. Of course, he'd break a nice moment like this. Then again, it wouldn't be his grandfather if he wasn't putting his foot in his mouth.]

Except when you do. How many planes have you crashed at this point, Joseph?

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