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."
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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."