4th gear | video

[paishodown]

[Here's someone who hasn't been on the network so much lately. When Asami appears on the camera, anyone who hasn't seen her recently will notice that she looks a bit older.]

I finished it!

[Stepping away from the camera, she reveals a hotel courtyard with various tools and scraps scattered about. A metal contraption that appears to be some kind of battery sits a safe distance away at the center of the shot.]

At home, we employ lightningbenders to make our electricity. They shoot energy straight into batteries, and it can be stored efficiently without having to burn coal. I'm hoping I can get something to work similarly with Pokémon's electric attacks.

[She glances off camera.]

When you're ready, Supāku.

[A Flaafy shuffles onto the camera, winds up, and releases an electric attack at the metal conductors of Asami's invention. After several moments, an indicator meter on the device's facade turns to maximum, and the Flaafy stops.]

I think it worked!

[Asami trots over to the device with another 'Gear in hand (sorry Korra, she had to steal yours for science purposes) and plugs it in.]

It's charging!

[She turns back to the camera.]

I'm hoping I can continue working with this idea and eventually come up with something small enough for trainers to keep on their person while they're traveling. The technology here is evolved so much farther than at home, I think it might be possible.

Comments

[paishodown]

The idea, admittedly, isn't mine. But I am an inventor back home.

[It's still sometimes a little weird, thinking of herself as one. But that's what she's become these past few years, it's it?]

I'm still getting used to how advanced the technology here is, so I'm starting with the basics.

[armoredsoul]

[Al grins widely, reminded a little bit of Winry.] Still, you took that idea and made it work! It's awesome!

Catching and storing electricity like that doesn't seem so 'basic' to me, but I'm more of a chemist than an engineer. Did I understand you right that people could control electricity where you're from?

[paishodown]

Yes. Advanced firebenders can create and channel lightning, though it's much more dangerous than a Pokémon just using an electric attack. In a way, having a world filled with Pokémon is like having a constant, safe energy source!

[armoredsoul]

Yeah, no doubt! And it hardly tires the Pokemon out, so there's no worries there. It actually seems really obvious, now that you've done it.

[paishodown]

Maybe it's already used in other parts of this world. Hard to tell with how... strangely isolated we all are.

[armoredsoul]

Yeah, I kinda noticed that...it's weird that we can't travel to the other regions at all--well, outside of the New Years thing, but even with that they kept us all penned up pretty strictly.

[paishodown]

It makes me a little nervous, to be honest. Like this whole place is a little too perfect... Except for that one, glaring detail.

[Asami I promise you aren't secretly in some horror dystopia.]

[armoredsoul]

It could be that it's a reaction to all of us showing up here. People appearing out of nowhere and no one knows how it happened...if it was isolated like this seems to be I could easily see countries back home reacting similarly. That doesn't explain the weird holes in this world's logic and natural laws, but I've been trying to figure out that stuff the whole time I've been here and it still confuses me.

[paishodown]

I've stopped trying to understand a lot of things. Pokémon themselves make no physical sense to me, but I don't know if that's because I'm from such a different place, or because they actually just don't make sense.

[armoredsoul]

No, they just don't make sense. I know enough biology to say that with certainty.

[Seriously, don't get him started on egg groups.]

[paishodown]

The physical rules of this world all appear to be exactly the same as the ones I'm familiar with, but Pokémon break... pretty much all of them.