2nd gear | video + action to goldenrod city

[paishodown]

[It's around midday, and Asami's 'Gear is propped up to record her sitting at a small table in the park. Her Riolu sits quietly beside her. The worn table is inlaid with a chess board, and the seat across from her is empty for now.]

Where I'm from, we have a game called Pai Sho.

[She speaks while she reaches into her bag to pull out a newly purchased chess set- mainly, the directions.]

It's a game of careful thinking and ruthless strategy. There doesn't seem to be a real equivalent here, but someone did point me toward this. Chess.

[Asami begins taking out the pieces and laying them out on the board.]

Anyone know anything about it?

[She'll be here for a while, reading over the rules and trying to teach Teruko how to play with her.]

Comments

[video]

[quickattackjack]

Chess is a fantastic game! I'm sorry you haven't been able to find anything about Pai Sho.

[video]

[paishodown]

Well, it's just like everything else here, I guess. Chess already seems very different, but it does require careful thought! Maybe even more so...

[Hmm]

[video]

[quickattackjack]

If we ever cross paths I'd love to play a match against you!

video;

[bertall]

Ah! I love chess! I-I used to play it a lot back home with a couple friends of mine!

video;

[paishodown]

You have it at home, then?

[So that's one thing that carries over, then. What's she been missing out on?]

Were you any good?

video;

[bertall]

People always said I was pretty good. I only had trouble against a couple people to be honest.

[enjoymyatelier]

Chess would fit that bill, yes. I must admit, I'm curious about this Pai Sho now that you've brought it up, but as I imagine it'd be difficult to find the means to play it here... what would you like to know about chess, specifically?

[paishodown]

You could probably hand-make the pieces, but the board might be trickier. Unless I had someone custom-make it...

[Something to keep in mind, she supposes.]

It'd be great if you could give me some pointers. I've only skimmed through the instructions.

[enjoymyatelier]

The board would be tricky, but not impossible, I'd imagine. Is there a traditional material that tends to be used with it...?

[...because why not consider taking commissions]

It's the sort of thing you pick up while playing, really. I think the most difficult thing for beginners to get down is how the individual pieces move, though... some of them are a bit odd.

[in_praetego]

I can't pretend to be an expert... but I know a little bit about it.

[ He kind of misses it, now that he thinks about it... but his brother wasn't much of a playmate... ]

[paishodown]

It seems like a lot of people do.

Maybe it would be better to learn from someone who isn't an expert. It's one of those "easy to learn, tough to master" kind of things, right?

[in_praetego]

Right. The basics are easy enough to pick up. It's the strategy behind it that's the challenge.

[ There's a small sheepish smile though. ]

If you'd like, I could teach you sometime. It's been a while though and I am a little rusty...

[friendyousohard]

I'm not half-bad at chess, though it's been a while since I've had a decent opponent. In all honesty I'm not sure it's as much about strategy as it is about move memorization, though.

[paishodown]

Move memorization?

[Asami rests her elbows on the table while she listens.]

Can you explain?

[friendyousohard]

Well, there's a limit to how many ways you can move starting from the very first turn, and each choice you make sets you into a different group of possible moves for your next turn. As a result, if you can memorize all the different possible moves you can make for each successive move, you can plan out an entire game. The ones who do best at the game are the ones who've played it so much they've memorized practically all of their options.

Video

[dreamsofahero]

Ah, I've read a bit about it here, though I can't say I've played it...

Video

[paishodown]

Were you ever interested in playing it?

Re: Video

[dreamsofahero]

To be honest, I hadn't thought much about it before. Though I suppose it might be interesting; from what I've heard, it allegedly requires at least some degree of strategic thinking.

[ video ]

[teammother]

Ahaha, I've played chess once or twice, but I can't really say I'm any good at it. [ sounds more like Rei's thing, honestly. ] I think I can remember most of the rules, though?

[ video ]

[paishodown]

They're actually not too tricky to remember, now that I'm getting a feel for them. The strategy itself looks like it's the tough part.

[ video ]

[teammother]

That's the part that always got me, yeah. I always tended to overlook something important and lose because of something that seemed really obvious in hindsight.

[usedwrench]

[Winry really should stop just staring at her screen after hearing that. But no, she repeats the video once or twice. ...There's a real reason for that, really, and it takes her a moment to think about it, and to calm herself a bit, before she finally decides to send a video reply.]

Sorry, I really don't know much about chess, but I know some people, who are great at it. They're not here though.

...Did you say the game in your world is called Pai Sho?

[It could be just a coincidence too, really, but she knows that name and she hasn't heard it in a long, long time and she could be wrong, but...]

[paishodown]

Mm-hmm! It's a very old game, back home, but it's very widely known.

[action]

[solas_ion]

[Having been walking past, one unusual individual in a very unusual shirt paused to listen to Asami, accompanied by a shiny Swablu perched on his head. Stepping closer, Lancer leaned over just slightly to watch what she was doing with the chess pieces.]

...I've heard of the game, but I'm not an expert. We had something similar where I come from, but ours was a little different by the looks of it.

[paishodown]

[Asami glanced up upon hearing the stranger's approach. She straightened her posture and brushed her hair back. Was that a... Pokémon riding on his head? And will somebody please help this man and his fashion sense...]

It seems like a lot of people at least have their own "version."

[She rested a finger on her chin, slightly raising one eyebrow.]

Ever interested in playing?