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[The screen flickers on to show a boy who looks like he’s a little bit in a fog. Behind him, a Buizel bounces around happily through the snowdrifts, nearly disappearing only to poke her head up every now and then, her whiskers and fur caked with snow.]

Hello? Is anyone out there? My name is Shaun Mars. There was this lady who called herself my mom, and she gave me a backpack full of food and clothes and stuff, and I sorta...just wanted to know if that had happened to anyone else. And also, if the food was...safe to eat. It’s like rice, and I think there’s fish and vegetables and stuff too, or something.

I think I might've gotten someone else's Pokegear thing. It says it's my birthday today, but my birthday was two days ago.

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[...Wow, that sure is a really little kid out there, stranded in New Bark in the middle of winter and sounding extremely lost. Normally, Carmen would stick to straight-up text as a matter of course, but given the circumstances, she'll make an exception this time. Because super pinged by lost little kids, okay.]

Hello, Shaun. I can hear you. You've just arrived here, haven't you?

[It's okay, he has a coat.

Besides, he's from Philly, which has been snowed under with more inches of snow than he is tall over the span of his living memory.

He shies away from the sound of the woman's voice, not visibly flinching but coming close.]

Uh-huh. Who are you?

Someone who can help answer your questions for you, I hope.

[It's not hard to pick out that he's defensive and scared at the moment. She'll just stay as casual as she can and let him acclimate to her in his own time.]

My name is Carmen. What's happened to you just now happened to me once, too.

...It did?

[He's uneasy, but she's not there in person to hurt him, and there's nothing she can really do to him over a machine.]

But you're a grownup. Why did that lady think she was your mom? Is she sick?

[Admittedly, Carmen has her own opinions on Mom's relative state of health, physical and mental, but that's not the point right now.]

No. She's just following a script, like in a play. She says the same thing to everyone who comes here, no matter how old or young they are.

Oh. She didn't seem like she was following a script. I think she really thought she was my mom.

Is the food she gave me safe to eat?

She's a very convincing actor. Don't worry about her, though; if you try to talk to her again, she'll only just say the same things.

It's a box of sushi, isn't it? And a bag of trail mix, too. It should be all right to eat, so long as you like sushi.

I don't want to go back there. She's not my real mom, even if she is nice.

I've never had it before. My d-

...I'm not supposed to take food from strangers.

[Uh-oh. That sounded suspiciously like the beginnings of a "my dad". Pinged x2.]

That's right, you're not. But everyone here is a stranger, and you might not be able to find a place around for you to buy something to eat instead. At least not until you reach the next town.

What if you fed some of it to your Pokemon? That might be a way of seeing if it's safe.

[IT WAS but possibly not for the reasons she may think.

He's just trying really hard not to think about his dad right now. Or his mom, but that's harder to manage, and doesn't hurt as bad if he accidentally does.]

...I guess.

-- I can't do that! What if she gets hurt?

[THAT'S COOL, kid guy, just think about education instead. Education is awesome. PROBLEM SOLVING TOGETHER, ALL THE WAY.

...also, he raises a good point.]

Then you'd find the doctor in town and take her there. Even when Pokemon get hurt, it's never permanent.

[That statement takes Shaun completely by surprise, and he goes silent for a long moment.]

It probably would be for mine.

[His tone is small and sad, almost broken. He's never had anyone he loves get hurt non-permanently. Even when his dad woke up from the coma, he wasn't really the same as he'd been before the accident.]

[AUGH, JUST SNAP HER HEART IN TWO, this poor kid.]

It wouldn't. That's not how Johto works.

[There's not a single bit of hesitation in her voice when she says it, either.]

Is it all right if I ask you some questions, Shaun? We can trade, one for one.

[HE KNOWS BETTER THAN TO TRUST PEOPLE WHO TRY TO TELL HIM THAT THE WORLD IS OKAY. He is going to continue to be under the impression that Pokemon can be killed until he learns otherwise through battling.]

...I guess. But only ones I wanna answer.

That's fair enough. How about where you're from? I'm from California, originally.

[...Technically true.]

[He's not sure whether he should answer or not, but he decides that Philadelphia is big enough.]

I'm from Philadelphia.

[She had her suspicions. STILL GOT IT.]

I've been there a few times. That's where the Liberty Bell is, isn't it?

Uh-huh. I've been there lots of times on class trips.

That must've been fun. I've been to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, too — the place where the bell was originally commissioned in 1752.

It's your turn to ask me a question now, if you want.

[Shaun doesn't really know what to ask. He thought she would be asking him questions to match how many he had asked her.]

Um... Do you have any kids?

[She will, soon enough, but better to establish a rapport with the kid first.]

None of my own, no. But I've known a fair number of them, and I'm traveling with a few right now. They're a bit older than you are.

[...That's kind of comforting-not-comforting. He really doesn't want to trust adults who don't have any kids, but she said she kinda has kids, they're just not hers.]

Are you like a teacher or something?

You could say that. I don't work in a school, but teaching is one of the things I do best, and learning is one of my favorite things to do.

What were you doing before you came here?

[...okay, teachers are okay, maybe this Carmen lady can be dropped down a rung on the danger scale.]

I was watching TV.

[A typical kid answer. And precisely specific enough that she can't really inquire further without sounding too interested in his previous circumstances. Well-played, Shaun.]

Was anything good on?

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