My fellow Arthenians:

I've been sick. Don't get too stressed out if I don't upload, there will always be a reason for it. Now that I'm better, I'll try to reestablish my regular upload schedule.

I'm hitting you with some more background and deep shit this chapter so be ready for it. Sorry if my definitions aren't entirely what you agree with, as these are my personal derivatives of them.

Viewer discretion is advised.

There are a great number of views of the world, some more objective and others more reliant than others. Everyone's own, personal perception of the world is shaped by such things as social and political context and religion, dominantly. Just as people have confirmed to certain classifications, as have Pokemon, and in the case of the latter it is the pure structure of the civilizations in which they live.

Hedonism- A secular and nontranscendent belief system, meaning it does not connote subscription to any religious beliefs. The main view of Hedonism (not to be confused with Heathenism, which is not a self-recognized philosophy but rather a societally appointed one) is simple: "What is good feels good, and what feels good is good." This is typically considered an unevolved standpoint, characterized by a life ruled by carnal desires (eat, survive, reproduce), and is usually regarded as the most sinful of lifestyles. In the human world, with few exceptions, animals are the only followers.

Existentialism- Secular and nontranscendent; "Live life for yourself and live it well, because you only get one". This is often incorrectly characterized by the popular phrase "The world is your oyster". Existentialists don't believe one can be whatever one wants to be, but rather regard the world in an objective matter. Rather than trying to be president, and existentialist would see that attempting something so unlikely would result in a waste of time, and life could be better spent doing something they enjoy regardless of what society (or "the machine", as is usually associated with existentialism) would desire. Secular existentialism coupled with religious affiliations is the predominant philosophical view of human society.

Nihilism- Not necessarily nontranscendent. "This is all going to be bad". Nihilism is a very negative view of everything, and can be incorporated into most if not all major religions. A nihilist would be plagued by an unending sense of angst, and if they have a view of the afterlife it would be negative; a Christian nihilist, for example, would believe there is no purpose trying to get into heaven because they would more than likely end up in hell anyway. Nihilists in human society are few and far between, but an example would be the "emo" population.

Dogmatism- Can be secular, but in most cases is transcendent. Dogmatism (derived from "dogma", a set of rules appointed by a higher but not necessarily divine power) is a philosophy that follows rules which a power they recognize as greater than themself has declared. The dogma followed may be something like a system of legal laws established by the government, or something as profound as Christianity's Ten Commandments. Merely following a religion doesn't make one dogmatic; They would have to do as they are told by the religion rather than solely believing in the higher power. Dogmatists make up a large percentage of the human population.

The dominant structural systems of the Pokemon world are hedonism and existentialism, as polar opposites. The Pokemon of existentialist societies live "as humans might", in urban metropolises and with occupations, creating families and friendships. Hedonist societies are usually found in the forest, living more "as nature intended", acting like wild animals as opposed to bioandrics.

The latter is where we rejoin our hero, poking a Caterpie.

The strange yet familiar caterpillar-esque creature was unexpectedly squishy, it's body depressed under his finger for a moment, feeling like poking a bag of jelly. The Caterpie immediately acted in response, raising the front of its body off the ground and rotating slightly that it might look directly at Ben, staring for a moment. Ben returned this blank yet intrigued gaze for a moment, noticing he was radially leaning in closer with curiosity.

Then he was hit in the face with String Shot.

From the tiny mouth of the creature that almost went unnoticed came a shockingly wide spray of sticky webbing that felt like spider silk, covering his face and even splashing across the rest of the surface area like a semiliquid. Ben recoiled, crying out in alarm and staggering back, hands raising and finding his face which was completely covered by the thick material. He grabbed at it with both hands but couldn't seem to make any progress with tugging it off. It was as secure to his face as though it was string, tied back behind his head in a knot of unholy proportions.

As the Caterpie went about its merry way, inching forward as though it hadn't just ruined the day of some poor individual, said poor individual was going insane. It was difficult to breathe through the stuff, and feelings of claustrophobia set in within seconds. Sweat came unnaturally quickly to his body, his lungs beginning to expand and contract spasmodically as he begun hyperventilating. He could see, yes, but only through a film which altered the colors of the world around him, granting them an obscuring white hue.

Even as he panicked, his brain shut itself off from the feelings and forced itself into a logical thought process: He needed to get this off of him; he couldn't do it with his hands; would using the robe work?... no, apparently not; heat would be able to melt it off... heat would pose a risk and would be very difficult to find soon; perhaps using water to wash it off... yes, water was is the best idea; find water.

And so, conforming to the wishes of his brain, his body was directed on a graceless and meandering path in pursuit of a body of water, perhaps a river or a lake or a pond. He moved, gradually calming and becoming more and more rational, over a period of about five minutes, maintaining a relatively linear course, until his ears picked up on exactly what he had been searching for: the sound of running water.

He made a mad dash in the direction of the noise, which he then identified as a river, flowing gently and invitingly. He knelt at the bank, leaning over at the waist and sticking his head in. His hands followed after, scrubbing at his face with the help of the solute and after not too long managing to free himself again from the clutches of the sticky substance.

He took his head out of the river and gave a relieved sigh, rubbing his eyes and blinking the water from them and looking around. This area was more sparsely wooded, and the river was flowing only about four or five miles per hour to his right, the body of water itself being about twenty feet across.

As he studied it, an orange and yellow creature leapt from the depths and crossed his field of view. He didn't get a terribly good look at it, but he did see what it was. "Magikarp," he murmured, then developed a frown. "Wait, what? Why did I know that?" He raked a hand through his hair from front to back and watched the water where he had seen it return under the surface and shook his head. "Weird."

As he studied the river, his back to the forest behind him, it slowly came back to life. Previously nervous Pokemon going about their way as though he wasn't there. Except for one. One lone Pokemon that was focused on his presence.

One that was heading directly for his turned back.

Yes, the moment you may or may not have been waiting for has arrived: Another character is being introduced. It's not Zoroark, so feel free to guess.

Arthenius