Plot 152: Pokémon: Friend or Foe? (submitted by Emmeline)
This town has been nothing more than boring as long as Muse A has lived here. Not even Pokémon GO, a game lauded for it’s ability to encourage social interaction, has changed much of anything around town. Sure, a few of the high school students have picked it up, but it doesn’t seem to be the obsession here that it is everywhere else. Muse A definitely doesn’t mind; less people playing means less competition for rare Pokémon and less opposition for their hold on the town’s only gym.
Muse B is new to town, moving there right before Pokémon GO was released. Between unpacking and settling in, Muse B hasn’t had much of a chance to do anything besides downloading the game onto their phone. Eventually, they get so restless that they aren’t playing the game that they can’t wait anymore, and take to the streets of the sleepy town in the middle of the night, walking the length of it to find every stop and Pokémon they can. After they discover the gym, they stop and set up a lure at a stop near their new house, not yet ready to return home.
That same night, Muse A can’t sleep and ventures out towards the gym, checking in with a few stops along the way to collect supplies. They are shocked to find a lure around the last one – all the high school players are surely home this late at night. They are distracted, frowning down at the unfamiliar username as they forget to watch where they are walking, completely missing Muse B sitting on the ground.
So begins the relationship between Muse A and Muse B. Is Muse A glad to have a fellow hunter or do they resent the new competition? Do the two continue to bond over their late night Pokémon adventures or do they become fierce rivals? Is Muse B on the same team as Muse A, or does this chance meeting spark an intense competition for ownership of the gym?