"Out of a need to prove themselves smarter than their neighbors. Wisdom only comes when your ancestors have killed enough people to ensure peace." Howard chuckled as he flipped open a newspaper and began to fill it out. "The irony is that most ancient societies actually knew very little. Blood letting, leeching, humors, yadda yadda. Most of it was superstition pretending to be knowledge."

The Cleffa lowered its newspaper and glared at Reiner and the Crocalor. Something malicious was afoot.

Howard, meanwhile, worked on his crossword. He tore through it with surprising speed as he spoke about healthcare. Of course the poor person would be interested in healthcare policy.

"We do, sometimes. They practiced quarantine and cleaning tools beforehand. They disinfected their surgical instruments with flame." Howard flicked his newspaper down and smiled at Eris. "It's why when you get sick, you could stay home from school. You didn't get very far, admittedly, but that's how it works."

---

Eris Halla

"Far, far away. I believe they were neighbored by Emulia and the Orre Kingdoms." Howard frowned as he hit a ten letter word for 'an expression of contentness'. He checked where the phrase intercepted and groaned. A space?

This crossword puzzle was a bitch.

"We do, sometimes, when we're in a hurry. If we were stranded in the wilderness, I'd disinfect with a burning knife to cauterize. Typically, they're disinfected between surgeries and left to cool. To them, it was a ritual. Surgeries took a long time to prep and they treated each one as a special occasion. Their doctors were their priests, and surgeries were miracles."

The Cleffa flicks up her magazine. Ominous, and not of the wind variety. Malicious. Disturbing.

"Miracles because of the mortality rates, anyway. Didn't know they taught kids biology that early. Howard flicked down his magazine and exhaled, blowing air towards the ceiling. "What's a ten letter word for 'an expression of contentment'? Happiness is nine letters."

---

Eris Halla

"They don't exist anymore, and they're hardly taught in school anymore. It's better to teach you kids about taxes and other boring things. Dreadful thing, taxes. Hopefully you never need to do them."

Man, how did he explain taxes to a child? He'd shelve that until Eris was older.

"It was a lot harder to garner the help of Pokémon back in the day. We didn't have Pokeballs way back in the day. The ones we did have were unreliable and powered by steam, if you can believe it." Howard chuckled as he looked towards Eris with a smile. "It was hard to get the help of certain Pokemon. Besides, what if the healing Pokémon grew ill? We can't just rely on them alone."

The Cleffa flicks down the magazine again, and waggles a finger, mimicking Reiner's irritation with a flawless Copycat. The magazine flipped up again. Malicious. Ominous. Dubious.

"Hmmm, no. I need a space... Ah, I've got it!" Howard snapped his finger, beaming as he scribbled his answer down. "Hunky dory!"

---

Eris Halla

"Haha! Don't worry about it. If it passes the crossword, it doesn't matter!"

The newspaper folded in on itself as Howard tucked it under his arm. Steam-powered Pokeballs were something that Howard struggled to imagine, but they did exist. Maybe they'd be able to reproduce them someday. Howard wasn't a mechanic, but he did vaguely understand how they worked.

And wasn't vaguely understanding something the mark of a good historian?

"Aw, I'm glad you enjoy learning about it. I enjoy teaching it." Howard gave Eris's head a comfortable pat, before going to fill out his paperwork to leave the clinic. "That's a good question. When we figured out it was easier to catch Pokemon then to truly befriend them."

The Cleffa raised an eyebrow, before disappearing into its Pokeball. A malicious fiend.

"Well, let's go!"

---

Eris Halla