Faller, Noun: Someone Experiencing Interesting Times - Chapter 4

On the matter of Fallers

by Professor Burnet 

Fallers. A term coined in Alola to refer to those that fell out of Ultra Wormholes, then later universally adopted to refer to all of those who have come from a world or dimension that was not our own. Fallers are a controversial topic in many ways, due to the radical effects they consistently have on society. Fallers have been some of the biggest heroes in history. Fallers have also been some of the biggest villains in history. One thing remains the same, however. Fallers always make an impact on the world, one way or another.

Now, while there will be those that argue nothing makes those who fall from another world inherently special, (they are of course correct, if often misguided in their phrasing) it cannot be denied that an outside perspective often makes it easier for someone to consider something that no one native to this world ever has. What was once thought impossible made possible simply because someone had no clue it wasn’t possible. A misunderstanding cleared simply because someone did not have the cultural background either party had, and thus could more objectively look at a situation. All these things and more are talents that Fallers bring, simply by existing. Thus, it should be no surprise that most major governments, regardless of their populace’s poor or positive opinion on these individuals, attempt to help Fallers integrate into their respective societies.

In the following paper, we shall explore the implications of…

Just like that, the article achieved liftoff right into the realm of academia and fuck parsing that lingo. Offbrand wikipedia would sort him out. 

Fallers are a phenomena that have occurred throughout the history of Garde, referring to Pokemon or humans that have ‘fallen’ into a foreign world or time. Throughout history, there have been several major events that a Faller has been pivotal in, either in a supportive role or as the defining figure of an era. Notable Fallers include Annabel, formerly of the Frontier Brains, now of INTERPOL and Akari of Hisui, better known as the Heroine of Hisui.

In more modern times the opinion of Fallers has, in general, shifted towards the negative due to the influx of Fallers originating from Earth, several of which attempted to execute a number of questionable schemes with what they referred to as ‘Metaknowledge’. It should be kept in mind, however, that those are by far in the minority, and most Fallers in the modern age generally are law abiding citizens of whatever region they end up in.

Neil’s stomach finally chose that moment to remind him he was a stress eater when he wasn’t so wired up that he forgot about all his bodily needs, which meant he hit a quick alt+f4 and scooped up the beaked dino like an oversized cat as he got up. Hopefully the cantina’s food was free, else he’d have to take a quick run to a supermarket to sort themselves out some sandwiches. 

Mawile let herself be carried as he began making his way towards the cafeteria, making herself comfortable as best she could as they entered into the canteen. It was, well. It was. Pokemon World or not, there just wasn’t that much variation to this sort of setup.

Much like the lobby, the walls, chairs, tables, and fixing were all featured warm, welcoming colors. Currently, it seemed the area wasn’t too busy, mostly devoid of humans and Pokemon sans a couple of people. There was no one by the counter, however, given that he could hear someone humming a merry tune that wasn’t one of the two people he could see, there was definitely someone in the kitchen beyond.

Which was good, because there was a distinctive lack of food laid out. It seemed that the cafeteria operated on either made to order or a menu system.

Beyond all of that, there was some interesting signage on the far wall. Informational posters about specialty diets for different types of Pokemon, as well as warnings that the Pokemon Center could not guarantee a completely vegan diet, as they often worked with various food items and could not say that cross contamination would never happen. Neil wandered over to read it properly with a curious “Huh.”

Regarding Specialized Diets:

It is the responsibility of the Trainer to provide for their Pokemon with any dietary concerns that are not covered by the standard nutrition contained within Poke-Chow. We at the Pokemon Center apologize for the inconvenience.

If you require advice on the unique nutritional requirements of any Pokemon, please see our website at www.pokemoncenter.gov/information/dietaryrequirements.

“We really need to get our hands on a Rotomphone. Or Poryphone.” Neil muttered into the fur of his beaked dino friend. “D’you want whatever flavor of kibble this Poke-Chow is, or just some human cuisine, partner?”

A curious chirp followed his question, followed by a tilt of her head to the side. Evidently, his starter was rather amused by the question. A moment later, he helped her up to his shoulder to free a hand to smack his forehead. 

Right.

“One chirp for pokechow, two for human cuisine.” He grumbled. It was startlingly easy to forget that there was a one-way language barrier in place.

Two chirps followed, making Neil chuckle. “Alright, let’s hope they have a menu you can point at for what specific dishes you want.”

A moment later, Mawile chirped and smacked his back with her head-tail, pointing upwards once she had his full attention. Lo and behold, generic cafeteria menu hanging atop the counter. Mostly balanced and easy to reheat meals like stew, stir fry, sandwiches and so on. A good two thirds could be ordered at no cost, while the rest were stuff like koulibiac, miso cod, risotto, spaghetti with clams, so on and so forth with the only thing that made him perk up being the paella. Alas, he was broke so the cooks wouldn’t get the Spanish Inquisition set on them today.

More importantly, it told him that there were mundane animals around as a food source, rather than Pokemon and humans being equally fine killing and eating sophonts. He had to wonder who had started sustainable farming and hunting of the mundane wildlife first, ancient humans or Pokemon.

A chirp from Mawile snapped him out of his internal musing. Glancing over at his partner, Neil grunted in acknowledgement as he spotted what she was pointing at, “Seafood Curry menu B, right? The mild one.”

He nodded at the confirming chirp, patting her leg from where it was digging into his shoulder. Little shit had even started resting her elbow on his head. “Alright, I’ll just grab some calamari fritti and shrimp fried rice, myself.” That settled, he kicked his voice up a notch, seeing as there weren’t any convenient buttons or bells for calling the servers, “Excuse me!”

“I’ll be with you in a moment!” A masculine voice called from behind the counter. With nothing to do beyond wait, Neil kept on acquainting himself with the extremely silky steel fur of his partner. He’d need to buy some combs and care products, this stuff was a delight to touch.

Finally, after considerably more than a moment, a harried looking teen strode up to the counter. The transmigrator felt he was having an out-of-body experience as he saw a customer-facing food worker sporting an actual, genuine smile on his face. Forget the Pokemon, this was true proof he had tumbled into another world.

“Hello! What can I get for you and your partner today, sir?” The boy greeted, full of youth and vigor and happiness beyond all common sense, “Will it be chow for Miss Mawile or will it be cuisine of the more human bent?”

“The latter, thank you.” Neil replied with a sedate nod that made Mawile grumble at him as she nearly lost her balance, rattling off his and the fairy’s order. 

“A seafood curry from menu B, calamari fritti and shrimp fried rice.” The young man echoed with a nod, jotting down a note as he hummed and rang up the order. “That’ll be free, as a matter of policy. It should be ready within the next ten minutes.” A note of apology entered the boy’s voice as he continued, “I was in the middle of cooking the latest batch of food when you ordered, apologies for the inconvenience.”

Wonder of wonders, he seemed genuinely regretful, rather than reciting rote company policy. Truly, this was a strange place with alien ways. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Neil waved off, retreating to one of the tables to let the boy get back to work. An empty one, because the few people dotting the cafeteria were busy reading or fussing over their partners. Speaking of. “Do you have a human-speakable name already? Nod or shake your head.”

Mawile, rather predictably, shook her head.

“D’you know Commedia dell'Arte? The stuff with Arlecchino, Capitano, Pantalone, Scaramouche and so on?” The transmigrator asked. Kind of a long shot, but worth trying.

Mawile once more shook her head, this time making an inquisitorial chirp that Neil could just barely tell was her way of expressing interest or curiosity. He couldn’t tell which word fit more.

“Theatre stuff from back home. Lemme run through the names of a few stock characters and you tell me if you like any?” The brown haired man asked, nodding to himself as he got an agreeable chirp, “Columbina, Coralin–”

Mawile chirped again, this time sounding a bit annoyed. Briefly, she paused, tilting her head to the side, before she shook herself vigorously and chirped insistently again, her small hands expressively trying to pantomime going back.

“Hah, more context, got it, got it.” Neil chuckled, shaking his head softly, “Right, so I don’t know a ton about the background behind Commedia dell’Arte itself, as in what brought about that style of theatre and whatnot. I am familiar with the stock characters, though, so I can tell you about them. We have three broad categories: The zanni, who are the servants. The vecchi, who are alternatively the elders or the masters. The innamorati, the lovers. The whole thing works like a toybox where you grab the characters you want and slot them together into a story using their commonly accepted traits, such as Columbina being the wily temptress amongst the servants who brews up trouble for the old vecchi while helping out the other zanni and being the confidante of the innamorati or sometimes just the young master or mistress.”

Mawile nodded hard enough that her crocodilian maw swooshed through the air. Without pause, she made an imperious gesture for him to continue, a curious sparkle filling her eyes as she listened with rapt attention.