[ Or so he says. He's going to get distracted by something, veer off course, realize he's not sure what way to go and ultimately make it there running very behind. ]
[Dustin has learned his lesson: Never expect people in Temba to arrive when he expects them to. Unfortunately he can't just set up the battery and leave, not like he did with the lightning rod - this prototype and its peripherals require observation, and will likely have to be removed and re-tooled once Pikachu gives them a test. He'll just have to wait and adjust his expectations accordingly.]
[So when Ash and Pikachu inevitably show up much later than Dustin would anticipate "be right there" would mean, he just looks bored rather than annoyed, leaning up against the front wall of the abandoned hotel while he taps and swipes idly at his communicator.]
[ When Ash and Pikachu finally make it where they need to be, Ash is a little out of breath and needs a moment. ]
S-sorry.. we got kinda turned around. But we're here now. [ Pikachu hops off Ash's shoulder and lands on all fours, looking around for the thing he's supposed to be shocking electricity into. ]
[Dustin shows the slightest hint of surprise, arcing his heavy eyebrows as he glances up from his tablet.]
Something happen? [Chased by a wild animal? Distracted by a recurrence of those cursed obelisk things? Stopped for lunch??]
[Aside from the (already, probably) charred lightning rod installed at the dead-end of the ruined street, there isn't anything readily apparent for Pikachu to shock. That's because Dustin has it safely tucked away indoors, in case they receive a surprise rainstorm; he hefts himself off of the wall and is making to shove open the Agrii-sized door to the building even as he starts to engage Ash in conversation.]
[Dustin perks up for a moment and his head tilts slightly, like he's heard a dog whistle. What he'd initially interpreted over the network as gibberish from the little yellow alien is...starting to sound more coherent now, actually. The Communications data point has never let him understand non-sapient creatures before, so there must be more to Ash's interactions with him than just an over-enthusiastic pet owner pretending to understand nonsense animal noises.
After a moment of consideration, Dustin shakes his head, files the observation away, and finishes hefting open the heavy door into the building.]
"It's not really that I don't know how to use one..." Ash starts.
"Pikachu pika pika. (He won't use one)" Pikachu voices, unaware that yet another human is able to understand what he's saying. Ash moves to cover Pikachu's mouth for throwing him under the bus like that.
"I just prefer to figure things out on my own." He offers as she follows after Dustin. Pikachu lets out a despondent sigh.
Dustin huffs a derisive laugh - then a fraction of a second later, the realization that he's agreeing with Pikachu instead of Ash hits. He turns his head fractionally to glance over his shoulder at the pair, an eyebrow raised as he glances between them.
"...Right," he says, sounding not at all convinced, before turning back to lead the way inside. "Better figure your shit out quick. There's a lot of dangerous stuff in the ruins that you don't want to just stumble on."
The bottom floor lobby of this building is completely trashed, which is to be expected, but the remains of what might have been a front desk have been swept clear of enough debris to provide a flat surface. On top of it is the cell: A nondescript sealed case made of patchwork plastics, roughly Pikachu's size, with a set of differently-colored metallic caps on either end attached to a pair of flexible leads. Something dark and vaguely bubbly can be seen through the more opaque parts of the container.
"Up ahead," Dustin instructs, pointing at the desk. "The plan is to store a few of these on the second floor, where they're less likely to see moisture."
"It'll be okay, I figure stuff out best when I'm running." Ash says confidently. Pikachu lets out a fond sigh. Maybe, back home, he'd right there and encouraging Ash since running is one of their favorite things-here though... maybe that's not the best approach.
"Ka, Pikapi... (Oh, Ash...)" Pikachu mutters. Ash ignores it and follows Dustin in before he gets a look over at the thing Pikachu is supposed to be charging.
"Sounds good, do you have wires to hook up to his cheeks?"
Dustin sighs in mirror, although his is definitely one of exasperation rather than fondness. There's not anything he can do to stop him - the kid isn't his responsibility nor his priority. At least Ash has the more sensible-sounding Pikachu to look out for him and (hopefully) keep him safe.
"I can get them to do that," Dustin answers, picking up the leads and giving them a critical glance over. He'd assumed he could just have Pikachu hold them and transmit current that way, but if his electrical output was concentrated on his cheeks, it probably wouldn't be very comfortable to pinch them with a set of alligator clips. He ponders for a moment, then reaches into his bag, shuffles around for a moment, pulls out a handful of scrap wire and a makeshift wire stripper. A couple seconds of cutting and twisting later, and the naked wires with frayed ends are gripped in the alligator clamps.
Ignoring Ash entirely at this point, Dustin turns to Pikachu on the boy's shoulder, holding up the leads for the little alien to examine. "Not a finished or ideal product, obviously," he admits. "I'll have a better design for next time. Can you keep the live ends pressed against your cheeks?"
Ash watches as Dustin prepares the wires and when he's ready, Pikachu hops down onto the desk. He's not sure how this will go. He glances up at Ash to make sure he's still safe before chancing taking hold of the wires.
He's not too sure about this but the worst that can happen is an overload. Probably.
"Alright Pikachu, you know what to do!" Ash encourages.
"Pikaaa...Chuuu!" The effect is immediately, the device overloads almost instantly, causing it to explode and with no where else to go, the electricity expels into the room.
"St-st-stop!" Ash manages. Pikachu stops the current dead and looks up to see Ash has little bolts of the static running through his hair.
Probably. Dustin seems mostly unconcerned, flitting around the prototype as he attaches various peripherals and checks on others. Testing and monitoring equipment - he doesn't anticipate that this will work as efficiently as it could, but that's because he doesn't have any way to judge the sort of output Pikachu produces. The multimeter crimped into the other end of this makeshift circuit will do most of the work in helping Dustin figure that out, even if the other parts fail.
...Or that was the plan, anyway, except that Dustin has deeply underestimated Pikachu's capabilities. It's not just enough current to burst the plastic wall of the tank as the acidic liquid inside instantly boils over - it's enough to pop every resistor in the testing circuit running in parallel, error out the multimeter, overcome the internal resistance of the multimeter, then jump straight into the hand Dustin is holding it with. And, thanks to his own mysterious conductive properties, his resistance is much lower than any of those other parts in the way.
There's a crackle, bang, Dustin's vision flashes white, and the next thing he's aware of is the fact that he's on his back halfway across the room with the partially-melted multimeter still gripped tight in his hand. He just lays there for a bit, too dazed to move.
Ash, being far too used to getting shocked like this, just shakes his head and recovers much more quickly than he really probably should be able to. The messy room is even more of a mess and Ash can't help but feel bad. Maybe he should have warned then man that Pikachu's thunderbolt was really powerful? Not that many people here have really believed him.
Speaking of-where did he go? Ash looks around only to find Dustin is just on the floor, looking a little stunned. He moves over quickly and offers a hand to help the other up, Pikachu has since moved back to the child's shoulder and looks perfectly innocent, like he didn't just fill the whole room up with electricity.
Dustin's thoughts are slow to catch up to the situation, which is, itself, rather concerning. He's aware of the acrid smell of ozone mixed with something burnt - singed hair? His whole body aches, like he's pulled every muscle at the same time. There's a particularly bad pain in his neck. Dustin unconsciously reaches up the hand not rictus-gripped on the multimeter to rub at the underside of his jaw, and finds a set of conspicuously swollen, irritated knots on either side.
ASIS chips are damaged, he realizes with a wince. They should self-repair, but it's still pretty alarming that Pikachu can carry enough of a jolt to harm them; it's not like this is the first time Dustin's ever been electrocuted, after all, so he's aware of the risks and consequences, except he's always been cautious enough to avoid something quite this severe. The fact that he acted carelessly this time is a rough blow to his pride, almost as bad as the shock itself.
Naturally, he directs all of that anger at himself outward. "Does it fucking look like it?" Dustin snaps. Annoyance sharpens his thoughts and drives him to action, shuddering as he lifts himself onto his elbows. "Why the fuck would you--"
His teeth click together into a grimace to cut himself off. Not their fault. Dustin takes a moment to squeeze his eyes shut and suck in a breath, in an attempt to calm his nerves. It sort of works.
"...Is there no way to moderate your output?" he asks after a moment, voice quiet but noticeably tense. "Or is it always...that."
Ash winces, taking a step back at the harsh tone and holding his hands up like he didn't mean any harm. Pikachu, on the other hand, takes that tone as a threat and hops down to stand protectively between Ash and Dustin, his beady little brown eyes narrowed and watching the other human very closely.
"Pikaaaa...." He growls in warning, his cheeks sparking ominously. Try to hurt and Ash and see what happens, seems to the message he's trying to send.
"Pikachu! Don't!" Ash intervenes quickly and thankfully, Pikachu stops and just looks up at Ash for direction. "Man, what's gotten into you lately?" He shakes his head.
"Pikachupi. (Lysandre)" Pikachu says bluntly. Ash seems to ignore it though as he just looks sheepish.
"S-sorry about that.. his electricity gets harder to control the more electrical build up he has. A few times, I've had to use rubber gloves just to hold onto him." He explains. "I shoulda warned ya just how powerful his thunderbolt could be."
Dustin doesn't move to action immediately at the warning - partly because his muscles are still pretty tense so he physically can't, but mostly because the threat is coming from Pikachu, who is the one that just put his ass on the floor in the first place. Instead he locks up, a flicker of fear passing through his eyes as the little alien stares him down. If that had been an accident, what would an actual, directed attack do to him? Dustin's still trying to process what kinds of parameters would result in his electrical bits getting fried without outright killing him, but he'd like to avoid figuring out first-hand if they can be adjusted to fatal levels.
Ash's intervention is, therefore, timely. Dustin releases a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and shakes his head, flinching at the soreness in his neck. "No shit," he grumbles, but his poor temper doesn't stop him from relenting a moment later, his gaze dipping to the ground at his side. "I...should have implemented more safety barriers. Gotten complacent working with alien electronics, apparently. Serves me right."
He pauses for just a moment in silent annoyance at himself.
"...What happened?" Dustin asks, glancing up to quirk an eyebrow at Pikachu. "With Lysandre, I mean."
Ash bends down and scoops Pikachu up, holding him tightly. If it's a little uncomfortable, Pikachu doesn't show it and just glances up at Ash, waiting to see if he'll actually answer or brush it off like he usually does. He knows his trainer hates to show weakness, especially because he's convinced others will think less of him if he does.
"Lysandre..." Ash starts but trails off. "I don't really know how to explain what he did without going into detail about a lotta stuff back home." He admits, a little sheepish but now there's a weight in his words that wasn't there before.
"But I guess, the easiest way to put is- he wanted to.. achieve world peace by recreating the world. Except, he actually just wanted to destroy it. In the Kalos region there's this Legendary Pokemon called Zygarde that's supposed to watch over and keep order in the region. Lysandre and Team Flare built a machine that let him take control of it and used it to destroy Lumiose City-it's mostly rebuilt now but a lot of people.." A lot of people didn't make it that day. Pikachu squirms so that he can climb up to Ash's shoulder and rubs his cheek reassuringly.
"He found out that I have this special ability that allows me to use my energy to give one of my Pokemon a power boost and he tried to use that too. Greninja and I were able to fight off the mind control waves but I think Pikachu's still upset that it happened."
"Pikapi.." Pikachu says sadly. He knows that Ash is also still upset about it, he just won't admit it.
"Anyways, sorry about what happened. We'll try to keep better control of it next time."
Dustin listens with narrowed interest, although he does end up using most of Ash's explanation to give himself time to physically recover. A few kneads of his hands so he can release the fried multimeter, a quick once-over to make sure he didn't skid or crack his head on the floor or something, then with a groan, Dustin hefts himself back to his feet.
There's...honestly a lot about that story that doesn't make a lot of sense to him. The names, mostly, though Dustin can infer a lot by context. A 'Pokemon' is the same sort of alien Pikachu is, that much he knows already. A 'Legendary' would be some kind of special subspecies, then - like an elder dragon in mythology. Greninja is probably another one. The fact that all of this mess involved some kind of special alien-boosting power and mind control technology would have absolutely been a sticking point for Dustin months ago, but it's a testament to how fucking bizarre things can get on this planet that, now, he just accepts what this ten-year-old is telling him at face value. Ash has superhuman abilities related to his connection with a specific species of alien? Sure, why not. Probably explains why he seems barely affected by Pikachu's electricity.
What takes him more off-guard, actually, is the apology. "What--no, don't," Dustin says, blinking rapidly. "I should have done more preliminary tests to determine Pikachu's output parameters before diving immediately into a demonstration. That's my fault for not doing basic fucking research."
He waves his hand in a dismissive circle near his face - a sort of agitated gesture, but from the way Dustin's face reddens, he's still mostly annoyed at himself.
"Besides," he continues in a huff, "The final product should be able to handle him at overload, with some room to spare. I'll use this to make sure it does."
"Yeah but.. I knew how strong his Thunderbolt attack is-I coulda given you a heads up. See, we're just kinda used to Team Rocket coming up with these whacky robots that can absorb electricity. Well, to a point. We over powered pretty much all of those, too." Ash admits, looking thoughtful.
"Pikachu? (Are you okay?)" Pikachu asks, watching Dustin carefully. He really over did it, he should have known not to go full power immediately. Now it looks like this Thunderbolt could have done some real damage.
"I guess I should go ahead and mention it Pikachu can produce at least a hundred thousand volts at a time."
Dustin just waves Ash's explanation off at this point. No use trying to assign blame anywhere (especially not when it's so much easier for Dustin to just blame himself and get on with his life), corroborating data points involving robots or otherwise. It's when Ash gives him a number that Dustin actually perks up - and looks properly annoyed.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not gonna die," he says first at Pikachu's fussing, before narrowing his attention in on Ash. "--Is that an estimate, or have you actually measured his output before?"
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winterfish
text | backdated to about a week ago
Date: 2023-04-01 07:51 pm (UTC)I'll bring it to the lightning rod at the factories whenever you're available.
text
Date: 2023-04-01 08:03 pm (UTC)[ Or so he says. He's going to get distracted by something, veer off course, realize he's not sure what way to go and ultimately make it there running very behind. ]
text -> action
Date: 2023-04-01 11:43 pm (UTC)[So when Ash and Pikachu inevitably show up much later than Dustin would anticipate "be right there" would mean, he just looks bored rather than annoyed, leaning up against the front wall of the abandoned hotel while he taps and swipes idly at his communicator.]
action
Date: 2023-04-02 01:28 am (UTC)S-sorry.. we got kinda turned around. But we're here now. [ Pikachu hops off Ash's shoulder and lands on all fours, looking around for the thing he's supposed to be shocking electricity into. ]
Re: action
Date: 2023-04-03 02:27 pm (UTC)Something happen? [Chased by a wild animal? Distracted by a recurrence of those cursed obelisk things? Stopped for lunch??]
[Aside from the (already, probably) charred lightning rod installed at the dead-end of the ruined street, there isn't anything readily apparent for Pikachu to shock. That's because Dustin has it safely tucked away indoors, in case they receive a surprise rainstorm; he hefts himself off of the wall and is making to shove open the Agrii-sized door to the building even as he starts to engage Ash in conversation.]
Re: action
Date: 2023-04-07 03:27 pm (UTC)"No, nothin' like that. We just went the wrong way is all." He admits.
"Pikachu Pikapi pika pichu pika." Pikachu stated. Whatever he said has Ash giggling in embarrassment.
"Anyways, thanks for helping us like this." He shrugs it off.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-10 07:00 pm (UTC)After a moment of consideration, Dustin shakes his head, files the observation away, and finishes hefting open the heavy door into the building.]
Sure, whatever. Do you not know how to use a map?
no subject
Date: 2023-04-12 01:09 am (UTC)"Pikachu pika pika. (He won't use one)" Pikachu voices, unaware that yet another human is able to understand what he's saying. Ash moves to cover Pikachu's mouth for throwing him under the bus like that.
"I just prefer to figure things out on my own." He offers as she follows after Dustin. Pikachu lets out a despondent sigh.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-12 07:43 pm (UTC)"...Right," he says, sounding not at all convinced, before turning back to lead the way inside. "Better figure your shit out quick. There's a lot of dangerous stuff in the ruins that you don't want to just stumble on."
The bottom floor lobby of this building is completely trashed, which is to be expected, but the remains of what might have been a front desk have been swept clear of enough debris to provide a flat surface. On top of it is the cell: A nondescript sealed case made of patchwork plastics, roughly Pikachu's size, with a set of differently-colored metallic caps on either end attached to a pair of flexible leads. Something dark and vaguely bubbly can be seen through the more opaque parts of the container.
"Up ahead," Dustin instructs, pointing at the desk. "The plan is to store a few of these on the second floor, where they're less likely to see moisture."
no subject
Date: 2023-04-13 03:44 am (UTC)"Ka, Pikapi... (Oh, Ash...)" Pikachu mutters. Ash ignores it and follows Dustin in before he gets a look over at the thing Pikachu is supposed to be charging.
"Sounds good, do you have wires to hook up to his cheeks?"
no subject
Date: 2023-04-14 08:51 pm (UTC)"I can get them to do that," Dustin answers, picking up the leads and giving them a critical glance over. He'd assumed he could just have Pikachu hold them and transmit current that way, but if his electrical output was concentrated on his cheeks, it probably wouldn't be very comfortable to pinch them with a set of alligator clips. He ponders for a moment, then reaches into his bag, shuffles around for a moment, pulls out a handful of scrap wire and a makeshift wire stripper. A couple seconds of cutting and twisting later, and the naked wires with frayed ends are gripped in the alligator clamps.
Ignoring Ash entirely at this point, Dustin turns to Pikachu on the boy's shoulder, holding up the leads for the little alien to examine. "Not a finished or ideal product, obviously," he admits. "I'll have a better design for next time. Can you keep the live ends pressed against your cheeks?"
no subject
Date: 2023-04-15 12:07 am (UTC)He's not too sure about this but the worst that can happen is an overload. Probably.
"Alright Pikachu, you know what to do!" Ash encourages.
"Pikaaa...Chuuu!" The effect is immediately, the device overloads almost instantly, causing it to explode and with no where else to go, the electricity expels into the room.
"St-st-stop!" Ash manages. Pikachu stops the current dead and looks up to see Ash has little bolts of the static running through his hair.
"P-pika... (o-oops)"
no subject
Date: 2023-04-17 04:36 pm (UTC)...Or that was the plan, anyway, except that Dustin has deeply underestimated Pikachu's capabilities. It's not just enough current to burst the plastic wall of the tank as the acidic liquid inside instantly boils over - it's enough to pop every resistor in the testing circuit running in parallel, error out the multimeter, overcome the internal resistance of the multimeter, then jump straight into the hand Dustin is holding it with. And, thanks to his own mysterious conductive properties, his resistance is much lower than any of those other parts in the way.
There's a crackle, bang, Dustin's vision flashes white, and the next thing he's aware of is the fact that he's on his back halfway across the room with the partially-melted multimeter still gripped tight in his hand. He just lays there for a bit, too dazed to move.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-19 02:56 am (UTC)Speaking of-where did he go? Ash looks around only to find Dustin is just on the floor, looking a little stunned. He moves over quickly and offers a hand to help the other up, Pikachu has since moved back to the child's shoulder and looks perfectly innocent, like he didn't just fill the whole room up with electricity.
"Are you okay?" He hurriedly asks.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-20 03:23 pm (UTC)ASIS chips are damaged, he realizes with a wince. They should self-repair, but it's still pretty alarming that Pikachu can carry enough of a jolt to harm them; it's not like this is the first time Dustin's ever been electrocuted, after all, so he's aware of the risks and consequences, except he's always been cautious enough to avoid something quite this severe. The fact that he acted carelessly this time is a rough blow to his pride, almost as bad as the shock itself.
Naturally, he directs all of that anger at himself outward. "Does it fucking look like it?" Dustin snaps. Annoyance sharpens his thoughts and drives him to action, shuddering as he lifts himself onto his elbows. "Why the fuck would you--"
His teeth click together into a grimace to cut himself off. Not their fault. Dustin takes a moment to squeeze his eyes shut and suck in a breath, in an attempt to calm his nerves. It sort of works.
"...Is there no way to moderate your output?" he asks after a moment, voice quiet but noticeably tense. "Or is it always...that."
no subject
Date: 2023-04-21 01:02 am (UTC)"Pikaaaa...." He growls in warning, his cheeks sparking ominously. Try to hurt and Ash and see what happens, seems to the message he's trying to send.
"Pikachu! Don't!" Ash intervenes quickly and thankfully, Pikachu stops and just looks up at Ash for direction. "Man, what's gotten into you lately?" He shakes his head.
"Pikachupi. (Lysandre)" Pikachu says bluntly. Ash seems to ignore it though as he just looks sheepish.
"S-sorry about that.. his electricity gets harder to control the more electrical build up he has. A few times, I've had to use rubber gloves just to hold onto him." He explains. "I shoulda warned ya just how powerful his thunderbolt could be."
no subject
Date: 2023-04-23 09:11 pm (UTC)Ash's intervention is, therefore, timely. Dustin releases a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and shakes his head, flinching at the soreness in his neck. "No shit," he grumbles, but his poor temper doesn't stop him from relenting a moment later, his gaze dipping to the ground at his side. "I...should have implemented more safety barriers. Gotten complacent working with alien electronics, apparently. Serves me right."
He pauses for just a moment in silent annoyance at himself.
"...What happened?" Dustin asks, glancing up to quirk an eyebrow at Pikachu. "With Lysandre, I mean."
no subject
Date: 2023-04-23 10:08 pm (UTC)"Lysandre..." Ash starts but trails off. "I don't really know how to explain what he did without going into detail about a lotta stuff back home." He admits, a little sheepish but now there's a weight in his words that wasn't there before.
"But I guess, the easiest way to put is- he wanted to.. achieve world peace by recreating the world. Except, he actually just wanted to destroy it. In the Kalos region there's this Legendary Pokemon called Zygarde that's supposed to watch over and keep order in the region. Lysandre and Team Flare built a machine that let him take control of it and used it to destroy Lumiose City-it's mostly rebuilt now but a lot of people.." A lot of people didn't make it that day. Pikachu squirms so that he can climb up to Ash's shoulder and rubs his cheek reassuringly.
"He found out that I have this special ability that allows me to use my energy to give one of my Pokemon a power boost and he tried to use that too. Greninja and I were able to fight off the mind control waves but I think Pikachu's still upset that it happened."
"Pikapi.." Pikachu says sadly. He knows that Ash is also still upset about it, he just won't admit it.
"Anyways, sorry about what happened. We'll try to keep better control of it next time."
no subject
Date: 2023-04-24 06:20 pm (UTC)There's...honestly a lot about that story that doesn't make a lot of sense to him. The names, mostly, though Dustin can infer a lot by context. A 'Pokemon' is the same sort of alien Pikachu is, that much he knows already. A 'Legendary' would be some kind of special subspecies, then - like an elder dragon in mythology. Greninja is probably another one. The fact that all of this mess involved some kind of special alien-boosting power and mind control technology would have absolutely been a sticking point for Dustin months ago, but it's a testament to how fucking bizarre things can get on this planet that, now, he just accepts what this ten-year-old is telling him at face value. Ash has superhuman abilities related to his connection with a specific species of alien? Sure, why not. Probably explains why he seems barely affected by Pikachu's electricity.
What takes him more off-guard, actually, is the apology. "What--no, don't," Dustin says, blinking rapidly. "I should have done more preliminary tests to determine Pikachu's output parameters before diving immediately into a demonstration. That's my fault for not doing basic fucking research."
He waves his hand in a dismissive circle near his face - a sort of agitated gesture, but from the way Dustin's face reddens, he's still mostly annoyed at himself.
"Besides," he continues in a huff, "The final product should be able to handle him at overload, with some room to spare. I'll use this to make sure it does."
no subject
Date: 2023-05-09 08:31 am (UTC)"Pikachu? (Are you okay?)" Pikachu asks, watching Dustin carefully. He really over did it, he should have known not to go full power immediately. Now it looks like this Thunderbolt could have done some real damage.
"I guess I should go ahead and mention it Pikachu can produce at least a hundred thousand volts at a time."
no subject
Date: 2023-05-15 07:04 pm (UTC)"Yeah, yeah, I'm not gonna die," he says first at Pikachu's fussing, before narrowing his attention in on Ash. "--Is that an estimate, or have you actually measured his output before?"