[It's been a while since Harry was on the Pokegear network, but today he can be seen walking along Route 35 with an Old Rod over his shoulder, heading towards the small patch of water that rumors say is now teaming with water types. He's been meaning to get one for a while now; staying in Goldenrod is fine, but if the need to leave ever arises, he'd like to be able to get farther than the weird tree-thing.]

[The one immediate oddity about this particular video is the angle; Harry's not the one holding the camera, nor is Lara filling the cameraman role. That particular job has fallen to Campbell today. The Gear is shooting from rather high, bobbing slowly up and down as it tracks Harry. Every now and then, one of the Hoppip's leaves brushes past the lense, briefly obscuring the view in a blurry field of green.]

Can't say I'm complaining about the weather. Seems to have gone to Lara's head, though.

[Harry nods at the Smoochum walking beside him. She's dancing around airily, singing her little heart out like all the other Pokemon that are popping up.]

Kinda weird, really. Suppose I might worry, but it's actually sort of a refreshing change.

[Harry frowns for a second, but it's quickly replaced by an almost contented look. The weather's nice, the music's drowned out, and for once Lara isn't plotting some horrific prank. Why worry? He reaches the water and settles down, casting a line into the pond.]

These Lapras things ferry people across water, right? And they sound big enough that I won't accidentally crush it or something. Should be pretty useful.

( Epic Poke-capturing skills behind the cut. )

Three days wandering in the wilderness and I'm back to civilization.

[Harry's set up somewhere at the outskirts of Cherrygrove, right at the edge of Route 29. Lara can be seen in the background, rummaging through her trainer's backpack, occasionally tossing things out past her wiggling legs.]

Relatively, anyway. This road was pretty tame for supposedly rugged wilderness. And this city looks like it could probably fit into a couple blocks of Chicago. Without making room first. Maybe into ONE if they demolished what was already there.

Hoppi?
SMOO!

[Behind Harry, a curious-looking Hoppip floats over to Lara. The startled Smoochum ungracefully pops out of the bag, scattering a few of the items within as she spins to face the newcomer.]

[Harry, focused on the Gear, remains oblivious.]

I stuck around -New Bark Town, was it?- for a couple days before I left. Tried talking to some of the people. They didn't seem quite human. Only spoke a few sentences, didn't seem quite in touch with reality emotionally, that sort of thing. And that woman that-

[He breaks off for a moment, obviously not wanting to talk too much about 'Mom'.]

The woman who's probably seen too many of those 'Lifetime' movies.

Pi-pi?

[Lara stares down the inquisitive Hoppip for a moment, looking defensive. She abruptly jumps up, planting a solid Pound attack square in the grass Pokemon's face.]

CHU!
PI-I-IP-

Anyway, I've been thinking about it, and there seems to be two possible explanations. One is that these are actual people who've been put under a serious mind-whammy. Don't think that's it, though. Something this serious wouldn't leave them nearly as coherent as they are, not for long. Second is that they're constructs of some kind. Like... robots, I guess. Artificial recreations of humans, but whatever's controlling them can't get the more subtle stuff like conversation quite right.

[Lara is back to picking through the bag, wiggling back out and producing a Pokeball. She stands over the stunned Hoppip for a moment, ball held aloft, looking like a gladiator waiting for a signal from the emperor before delivering the final blow. ]

Smoo-CHU.

[She throws the Pokeball down at the Hoppip with more force than is strictly necessary, producing the familiar pop and whoosh of dematerialization. The ball lands on the ground with a soft click, wiggling a bit in the Hoppip's feeble struggles from within.]

So anyone else noticed anything? Seen any evidence that these people actually, you know, have to do biological stuff?

[The Pokeball lets out a 'ding' to mark a successful capture, falling still. The noise is apparently enough to catch Harry's attention, as he finally turns away from the Gear for a moment.]

Lara, quit playing around with that stuff, that bag's like a black hole.
Smoo-chu~
Fine, but if you get lost in there don't expect a search party.