The world doesn't change because of genius.

[VIDEO]

[Ishimaru is outside again today, seeming to be taking advantage of the nice weather while it holds; at least he's looking at the camera today, and his gaze is shifting...a little less, maybe. He still seems a bit tired but at least he's calm; the view behind him is, once again, that square in Goldenrod near the Center.]

The place I came from put a lot of emphasis on punishment...both for what we did, and what we didn't do. Failure to act in a certain way, to do as we were told, was punished; failure to not act in the way that we were expected to was likewise punished. Rules and laws and "justice" were used to control us, not to guide or help us; instead of keeping us safe, they were used to tear us down.

No matter what we did, we were going to be wrong.

[His voice remains firm but calm through all that; he's not shouting, but he doesn't seem about to cry, either. Just...working through it, really.]

When situations are hard like that, and seem unwinnable, it's easy to forget what justice is intended for. It's meant to protect people, and most importantly, it's meant to give people hope - for themselves, and for the future!

So even if...even if you haven't always done what's right, even if you've made mistakes or taken punishment - if you choose to do right afterwards, the wrong you've done doesn't have to define you!

I think there comes a time when you deserve to be considered good again!

[...yep, there's the shouting.]

It's not going to be easy - it's something I'm still working on, too. But if we're willing to work hard and not lose hope, I think we'll all be all right, in the end! We just have to do our best.

I hope today is both good and productive for you, and if not, I know that tomorrow will be better!


[ACTION]

[Returning to Goldenrod City has been...strange.

It's not strange in the way that coming to a new place tends to be strange, or perhaps returning to an old place that's changed drastically in your absence; there's no lack of familiarity, and if anything the strangeness is caused by just the opposite - there's a weird sense of returning home to it, and Ishimaru isn't entirely sure what to do with that. He hasn't felt that way since before Hope's Peak; it's weird to experience it now, but it's not altogether unwelcome.

...granted, it's not something he has long to dwell on; he finishes the video and takes a while to just...collect himself, but eventually he heads back to the house. And as soon as he manages to get the front door opened there's a sudden sharp skittering of nails against the floor and the vibrations of twenty-odd Eevees hup-hup-hupping their way down the stairs, and he flinches a little and braces for the moment where the swarm hits -

And then there's a thud, and there is quite simply nothing.

...

... ... ...

Huh.

It takes him a moment to open his eyes, given that they'd slid closed while he was in the middle of preparing for impact; apparently the thud was the fuzzball legion all sitting in unison, and now they're just kind of parked on the floor and headtilting like confused pugs because grandpa's home and we sat and why is he just standing there.

He's clearly going to be spending some time playing with the fuzzballs today, because oh my god they did so well. c: ]

[Well, tonight will see another post from Ishimaru, and while the sun has long since dipped down beneath the horizon, the video is lit by an odd, bright purple light somewhere in front of him, and a dimmer red one that seems to be sort of sliding around slowly just out of view somewhere to his left; he's back in that white uniform, simply because it feels weird to him not to wear it, and while he's definitely outdoors, he seems to be rather high up - really, if the texture of the floor he's kneeling on is any indication, he seems to be on a roof somewhere.

Of course, if you're familiar with Ecruteak City, you'll likely recognize the view just barely visible behind him; he's up atop the Tin Tower today.

Either way, however, he seems in much higher spirits this time around; he's sort of smiling, even, though not quite - he's never really done happiness very well as far as facial expressions go, nor has he really done it very naturally - and his words are quick, rushed with excitement.]

Most of my studies deal in concrete fact - the paranormal, the theistic and the unexplained have never been anything that I've found useful, and so while I know a few of the more common myths from my own world, I've been willing to set them aside as just stories! But since coming here, I've met people who can say those stories are a reality - people who have spoken to ghosts, or been ghosts themselves; people who know of the existence of fairies and done magic themselves, or people from other worlds entirely. It's been interesting, if difficult to believe sometimes!

But it also makes me wonder how many of the myths here are true; I think a lot of it is like our creation mythology back home, just centered around Pokémon - people saw the animals here and attributed the creation of the world to their power, when that might not be the case. I think it warrants further study either way, though!

The place I'm at now...they say that one of the Legendary Pokémon used to call it home, but now it travels the world looking for trainers who are pure-hearted. I'm pretty sure that means I'll never see it, but I'd like to become the sort of person where it's at least a possibility someday.

[He'll be up there for some time longer, after the video cuts out and the feed goes dark; he's got his Litwick up there with him, and he's leaning up against one of the railings, looking out over the city skyline.

He also has a rather small Slugma up on the railing next to him; just...try not to knock it off if you join him, that'd make everyone kind of upset...]