[TEST DRIVE] The Joey Show's About to Begin

[infernofireblast]

[The feed goes live, but the camera is shaky and obviously in-motion. A blonde-haired youth suddenly appears on the screen, big grin on his face and hand formed into a thumbs-up.]

What's good trainers! Joey Wheeler, comin' to ya live from Violet City! Been a little ova a week since I got dropped into dis' weird new world, but I already landed me a shiny new Zephyr Badge!

[He holds the wing-shaped badge up to the camera.]

Me and Red Eyes had a tough go of it, but da squad came through just like always! There's no breaks on the Joey Train though, so the next stop's Azalea!

Comments

[thetombkeeper]

[Another one that just seems... alright with him? Maybe he has been over thinking things...

... Some of the gang. But he isn't? Not in their world at least. He didn't even get a chance to arrive back in Egypt. Clearly he's just talking about the cheerleader squad.

But this Joey does look a bit older though so...]

Eh? My starter's at 90, I think...

[He glances off screen for a moment.]

... Yugi's not here. The Pharaoh is though. He's... with me.

[Kaiba too buuuttt he'll check with the other teen first before he goes telling Joey since he's mildly aware of Kaiba's opinion of him.]

[infernofireblast]

Oh damn! Atem's here and you got your monstahs up to the butt-kickin' heights-a level 90? That's awesome!

[Joey nods vigorously, inadvertently shaking the Pokégear as he does so.]

I'm gonna have to get my crew strongah too, cuz there's no way the next boss is gonna be as much of a pushover as that dude with the flying monstahs. Every new area's gotta have bigger and badder creatures, or else da game gets boring!

[thetombkeeper]

... How in oblivion are you so well adjusted to this world already? You said so yourself you just got here a week ago. You shouldn't be able to take on the gym yet!

[Because that's what's important, right.]

[infernofireblast]

Oh yeah!

[It's easy for Joey to forget who rides the bench whenever the gang gets pulled into yet another dimension or some new form of virtual world.]

Tristan, Tea, Yug, and I have gotten pulled into so many of these worlds by now that dis' is just old home week! Thankfully dis one just looks to be a video game, and I'm all kinds-a good at those.

[thetombkeeper]

[Tristan. That's his name. He can never remember it.]

I... don't even know what to say to that.

It's not... a video game though. It just seems like it.

[Or so he's been told.]

[infernofireblast]

The heck it's not. Dere's little monstahs scattered around the world you can gather up, they've got levels you can grind them troo, little containahs hold them on ya belt, and you can't have more den six on you at a time.

[Joey gives a "come ON" gesture with his hands.]

I started at the most obvious tutorial imaginable too. Small town, helpful items to start out wit? Heck dere's even bosses you gotta beat to clear an area!

[thetombkeeper]

[Marik just stares. Not having ever really played any video games, he has no frame of reference. He's just been told it isn't. But that does rather sum up everything he's experienced decently well...

Whatever a "boss" is.]

... I...

[Time for another existential crisis.]

A-And you've said you've... been... through this sort of place numerous times before... Have you been here?

[infernofireblast]

Nah dis one's new to me, but we've been through two of Kaibacorp's virtual worlds and a wacky kind of alternate world cooked-up by Alexandah da Great so I figure it'll fit da bill pretty much da same.

[He nods in agreement with his own sentence.]

Besides, me and da gang would hit the arcade all the time back before all da craziness with end-a da world stuff stahted, so Old Joey knows his way around a video game or two!