PALACE GAME: Round 3

[cultfavorite]

You open your eyes—

You're standing in the vast lobby of a corporate building, facing the reception desk, where a Team Galactic Grunt is stationed—she's currently on the phone, though, and occupied. A few other grunts move through the lobby, looking as if they're on their way to their next assignment. All of them look identical. And if you watch their paths for a while, none of them actually end up leaving the room.

The walls are a bright, metallic, sterile blue with white, and the floor is made up of gleaming silver metal tiles emblazoned here and there with a gold logo. The reception desk is slightly to your right, and to the left of that there are three doors in the far wall in front of you.

To the right of the reception desk, there's a little area with a vending machine, a large ottoman to sit on, a potted plant, and . . . a dotaku? With a face? It's sitting resting on the floor next to the vending machine, and it's staring right at you with those red eyes.

Directly to your right, closer to the front door, there is a glowing green circle on the floor with a sign on the wall next to it.

What will you d—

Wait. Your phone is buzzing. Whether or not you had it with you back in the prison, you do now, whether in your pocket, in your hand, whatever. It's on your person, and it's vibrating demandingly for attention. If you choose to ignore it, a mechanical voice emanating from it begins literally saying the word buzz! buzzzzzz! buuuzzzzzz! in an increasingly irritated tone.

Check your phone?

Comments

[cultfavorite]

Gehehe! Where do I even start with that one? Why don't we start with what you do know? Where are you right now?

[terribletwos]

... Either a game or a heart. Since I don't recognize anything but kinda that.

[Points to the dotaku]

And also because this stuff's talking about Pokemon. But I'm definitely not one of those.

[cultfavorite]

Bronzong, when gestured at, lifts up off the ground and bobs in greeting, though it doesn't approach yet. Rotoron continues:

Are you sure about that? You have types and moves! That's conclusive evidence! But this old man knows where you're coming from. I wasn't a Pokemon either until this mess. Blame Commander Saturn for it!

[terribletwos]

Saturn? So it is a heart.

Wait, commander?

[cultfavorite]

Pah. He's not much of one, if you ask me. I was the most genius and useful of all Team Galactic's Commanders! He had seniority over me, nothing more than that!

There seem to be some hard feelings here. Also, Rotoron sounds much older than Saturn for all that Saturn had seniority over him.

[terribletwos]

You said you're an old man. Why did Saturn's heart make you a Pokemon?

[cultfavorite]

You'd have to ask the boy himself about that one. If he can even tell you! Youth don't always know how their own hearts work. As you get older, you give up on idealistic nonsense like understanding them. But I'll tell you this much. I was the preeminent genius expert on this particular Pokemon I've become. At least he recognizes that!

[terribletwos]

I guess that makes sense. I don't know what I have to do with steel though. My usual power is light.

[cultfavorite]

There's no such thing as a Light Pokemon. We all make do with what we have in this world! Now get out there and explore it already, boy! This is a golden opportunity to be intrusive. Never turn those down.

[terribletwos]

But don't Pokemon usually fight other Pokemon. I don't want to fight Pokemon.

[cultfavorite]

Gaha! You won't have a choice in the end. I don't think the Big Boss is going to let you guys out of here that easy. So steel yourself now!

[terribletwos]

Well, I guess Big Boss is kinda self-explanatory. But I'm still going to make sure the Pokemon want to fight first.

[cultfavorite]

Oh, he will. Don't you worry about that. If you don't . . . good luck!

[terribletwos]

[Sighs]

Might as well check out those basics then.

[cultfavorite]

The display it brings up is an explanation of type advantages. It's not as in-depth as this article, but it is more in-depth than I want to write or you want to read. Thankfully, Rotoron is here to help:

Well? Any questions?

[terribletwos]

Nah. I think I get it. I've dealt with elemental Heartless before. You just want to use magic they're weak against.

Though now I've got to also worry about what I'm weak against, I guess.

[cultfavorite]

That'd be Fighting, Ground, and Fire. Me, I'm Ghost/Electric. Ground is bad news! Bah!

[terribletwos]

Fighting, ground and fire. I'll remember those.

But you'll be safe as long as you stay here, right?

[cultfavorite]

Oh, I don't battle. I'm not that kind of Rotom! What would I do from a phone, anyway?

[terribletwos]

You have a point there. Okay, what's this Exploration Advice?

[cultfavorite]

Right now? My only advice on how to explore is to start doing it! I'll have more to say about it once you've had a look around!

[terribletwos]

[Going to go chat with the other Pokemon then]

Do you know anything about the Big Boss?

[cultfavorite]

It's Bronzong! It was fully at rest on the floor, but when approached, it lifts up off the ground and bobs in the air in acknowledgement. Its gaze is inscrutable, and it only emits a strange, croaking gong sound, rumbling through the air.

Slowly, it bobs forward as if nodding.

[terribletwos]

[That's... different.]

Great. Can you tell me how to find them?

[cultfavorite]

Slowly, Bronzong floats over to the area with the three doors and settles in front of the middle door.

There are three doors here. Each is an automatic sliding metal double door, currently closed; the doors to the left and right are trimmed in a lit tube of neon yellow. The middle door is also trimmed in a tubular light, but the light seems to have gone out.

Above each door is a square LED panel, each showing nothing but a single emoji, though plenty large enough to make out what it is. From left to right, they are:

🧠 ❌ 💗

The middle door is flanked by two flat-topped chrome metal pedestals, short enough for the tops to be easily viewed; the dim black top of each is featureless right now, but they look reactive, like they might contain some kind of sensor technology. Not that there's anything on them for them to sense right now. It may be that something should sit there . . .