Chapter 2
Jon found himself immersed in white light. There was no apparent floor, but he felt like he was standing still and falling simultaneously. He had an overwhelming since of vertigo without anything to orientate towards. There was not even the sensation of increasing momentum due to falling through air. There was no sensation of air, other than the acknowledgement that when he forced himself to breathe, he felt replenished. Holding his breath didn’t seem to hurt him, but there was a growing awareness that he should return to breathing if he held his breath. This place of whiteness felt extremely peaceful and he felt the stirrings of euphoria and then suddenly, he was back in the real world, tumbling, simultaneously with being attacked by a tiger. The world tumbled in a blur until the motion had stopped and he was face to face with the tiger. The tiger was on top of him, grasping his shoulders with huge claws, and roaring a protest in his face. It seemed to be a glow, as if it had a firey nature, and suddenly Jon’s mind went: ‘tiger, tiger, burning bright.’ The tiger had a whisk of hair coming off the top of his forehead like Mohawk, adding to the ‘flame’ effect.
“No! Stop,” someone shouted.
The tiger looked in the direction of the shout and then back at Jon, roared once more, and leaped into the bushes and was gone, leaving leaves in its wake. A female, perhaps 18, wearing a safari outfit, kaki blouse and mini skirt, predominantly military-green, tennis shoes with neon yello highlights, white knee high socks, and a pith helmet stood over him. Her hands went akimbo, the classic power pose of Wonder Woman or Isis.
“Do you know how long I have been tracking that Growlithe?!” she demanded.
“Uh?” Jon asked.
“OMG, are you trying to look up my…” she asked, backing up.
Jon sat up.
“Where am I?” Jon asked.
“So, you’re going to play lost now?” she demanded. “I am still waiting for my apology.”
“I am sorry I was looking up…”
“Not for that! For intruding on my catch! I so had that Growlithe,” Loxy said.
“The tiger?” Jon asked. “You were trying to catch a tiger?”
She knelt down in front of Jon, touched his forehead, turning his head through points of articulation searching for injuries. He didn’t stop her or protest, nor did he flinch. He looked at her in a sort of stunned way, as if mesmerized by her beauty. He bit his lower lip, trying hard to maintain eye contact while being distracted by cleavage that was practically in his face, and tried to smile at her.
“You don’t appear to be injured, Sir,” she said. “Your clothing is torn and some superficial scratches. Take off your shirt so I can treat your wounds.”
Loxy reached into her bag and pulled out an ointment. Jon did not take off his shirt. He was staring at his hands. They seemed bigger than he remembered.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I am still processing what happened,” Jon said.
“You stepped in between me and the Growlithe just as I threw a Poké Ball…” she said.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t see you step out, you were just suddenly kind of there.” She narrowed her eyes trying to figure out why he was looking at her so strangely. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” Jon said.
She smiled. “Thank you,” she said. And then frowned. “I am still crossed with you. You at least owe me a Poké Ball.”
“A what?” Jon asked.
“How hard did I hit you?” she asked.
“You hit me?” Jon asked.
She sighed. “What’s your name?”
“Jon,” he said. “Jon Harister.”
“I am Loxy Isadora Bliss,” she said, offering her hand. “Pokémon trainer, and member of Team Instinct.”
“Uh?” Jon asked, not taking her hand.
“You never heard of Team Instinct?” Loxy asked.
“Is that like a rock band?” Jon asked.
“Maybe I should take you to the nurse,” Loxy said, standing. She kept her hand extended to him, so that she might help him stand.
Jon accepted the help up and once on his feet he nearly fell over. He tried walking, extending his hands to try and get balance, as if he were walking in high heels for the first time, only he wasn’t walking in heels. They looked like his tennis shoes, only bigger. Loxy took his arm to steady him.
“Are you dizzy?” she asked.
“No. Yes. I don’t know,” Jon said. The world felt smaller than he remembered it being.
“Something is seriously different.”
“Come on, then,” Loxy insisted, leading him by the arm.
Jon freed herself from her help wanting to do it on his own. “I am not a child.”
“I was trying to be helpful,” Loxy said.
“Thank you,” he said. It was taking effort to walk and he wasn’t sure why. “What is wrong with me?”
“I don’t have a response to that,” Loxy said. “Celadon is this way.”
“What is Celadon?” Jon asked.
“Really?!” Loxy asked.
“Pretend like I am new here and educate me,” Jon said.
“You just told me not to treat you like a child, now you want me to treat you like a…”
“Visitor from Kansas?” Jon completed the sentence for her.
“What is Kansas?” Loxy asked.
“Really?!” Jon asked.
“Just come with me,” Loxy said.
Nothing better to do at the moment, Jon went with her. Technically, it wasn’t that hard of a choice. She was truly an amazing looking woman, and she noticed he kept stealing glances of her, but he was not yet sure what she thought about him stealing peaks. He probably would have followed her to the ends of the earth. The road seemed narrow and was lined by thick forests on either side. Though he trusted her well enough to walk with her, everything she said just led to more questions, and he found himself in a mood and not wanting to talk. That was until a five year old kid jumped out of the bushes and shouted at them. Jon was initially startled, but on realizing it wasn’t a ‘Growlithe’ he was a little bit irritated at the kid.
“Hold up there, wayfarers,” the kid shouted. “I am Mentos, the world’s best Pokémon Trainer, and I challenge you to a match.”
“You’re like what? Four?” Jon asked.
“You doubt me, Sir?!” Mentos demanded. “I challenge you to a duel!”
“Go home, kid,” Jon said.
“You have to duel. That’s the rules,” Mentos said, on the verge of tearing up.
“He doesn’t have any Pokémon,” Loxy said.
“How could he be out in the wilderness without Pokémon?” Mentos asked, skeptically.
“Oh, better question, how can he be that old and not have at least one Pokémon friend? What kind of looser is he?”
“Those are great questions,” Loxy agreed. “It is possible he is not right in the head, and so I am taking him to Celadon to see the nurse.”
“Excuse me, I am right here,” Jon said, perturbed.
Loxy motioned to him that she understood, but that she ‘had this.’
“Well, one of you is going to have to face me in a duel, or forfeit all your money,” Mentos demanded.
“Really? We’re being robbed by a five year old?” Jon demanded. “Where are your parents, kid?”
“Who needs parents when you got Pokémon?” Mentos demanded.
“Get out of our way before I smack you,” Jon said.
Mentos unleashed a Pidgey and the flapping of wings and screeching of the bird drove Jon back.
“What the f…”
“Now, give me all your money or return from whence you came!” Mentos demanded.
“Very well, Sir, prepare to battle,” Loxy said, drawing a Poké Ball from her belt.
Loxy drew out her ball and a Chikorita arrived on the scene. Mentos laughed.
“You expect to beat my Pidgey with that?” Mentos asked.
“Cheeka, Magical Leaf,” Loxy demanded.
The Chikorita dodged an aerial assault, and released a whirlwind of glittery leaves, like a bag full of raked leaves exploding, only with glitter, and dust, and aroma. Jon sneezed. The Pidgey tried to dive through it, squinting, closing its eyes, and then collapsed in midair and to the ground. Mentos ran to his Pidgey.
“OMG, you’re absolutely brutal!” Mentos whimpered, picking up his poor, beaten pet.
“If that’s all you got, I want half of the money in your pocket,” Loxy said.
“I don’t have any money in my pocket. Why do you think I am out here hustling!” he snapped. “Mama!” he cried and then ran home.
Loxy picked up her Chikorita. “Good job, Cheeka,” she said. “Come on, Jon. We should make it the rest of the way without further interruption.”
“What the heck was that?” Jon demanded.
“How can you not remember anything about Pokémon or battles?” Loxy asked. “Our whole world is about Pokémon.”
“You’re tell me that this entire world is preoccupied with catching animals and making them fight?” Jon asked. “That’s just sick.”
“Wow, aren’t we judgmental,” Loxy said.
“Yeah, I am. Robbing people- bad, dead puppies- bad, babies with cancer- bad, parents and sibling pounding on you- really bad, and making animals fight each other, just wrong,” Jon said.
“Well, when you say it like that, it sounds pretty horrid,” Loxy said.
“Can you spin it another way?” Jon asked.
“I guess you come from an alien world where parents pay attention to their kids and there is no highway robbery and kids don’t have to train to earn a living?” Loxy asked, petting her Chikorita.
“Well, no,” Jon said. “The highway robbery is state sponsored tolls, and there is no empty pocket practice of letting people off the hook. And not paying comes with such extreme penalty that it’s better to go hungry or steal from your neighbor and pay that than let it go.”
Loxy seemed more concerned. “Wait wait wait. You really believe you come from another world? Alright, nurse is just this way, come on.”
The nurse’s station had a dozen Pokémon walking about, recovered and playful, waiting for their owners to return and pick them up. Several of them were Chikorita which rushed to see the new Chikorita. Nurse Joy met Loxy with warmth, and then immediately turned to Cheeka. “Aww, Cheeka!”
“You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” Jon said to the nurse.
Loxy looked at him confused.
“Thank you! And Cheeka here is my most favorite little Chikorita ever,” the Nurse said.
Jon executed a double take off the other Chikoritas. They had the same confused look that Loxy had just given him, only for the nurse, as if their feelings were hurt.
“It looks exactly like these other Chikoritas,” Jon observed.
“Oh, sir, how can you say that?” Joy asked. “What strange company you are keeping, Loxy.”
“Yeah, about that,” Loxy said. She leaned in and whispered. “You think you could examine him.”
“Loxy, you’re probably better at healing humans than I am. I specialize in Pokémon. Is one of yours hurt?” Joy asked.
“No,” Loxy said. “It’s just…”
Loxy and Joy turned to Jon. “Are you okay?” Joy asked.
“Could I use your restroom?” Jon asked.
“You have to ask?” Joy asked.
“Um, I have to ask where the toilet is,” Jon said.
“Really?” Joy asked.
“I have never been here before,” Jon said.
“You have never been in a nurse’s station before?” Joy asked. “The floor plan is exactly the same no matter where you go.”
“That’s what I am trying to tell you,” Loxy said.
“You don’t need a nurse, you need a psychiatrist,” Joy said.
“Because I need to pee?’ Jon asked.
“Because you should know where it is,” Joy said.
“Humor me,” Jon said.
“I don’t know if we should humor psychosis,” Joy said.
Jon gave her a look. Loxy pointed to the restroom. He struggled to get there without running into Pokémon, who seemed very interested in him. Loxy and Joy watched him disappear into the lavatory.
“Where did you find him?” Joy asked.
“He found me. I think I hit him in the head with a Poké Balls,” Loxy said. “Do you suppose that could cause brain damage?”
“I have never heard of…” Joy stopped.
Jon had emerged from the lavatory, very pale, looking like he might collapse. Joy and Loxy rushed to his side and sat him down in the closest chair. His hands were trembling. Joy pried his eyes opened wider to stare into them. He pushed her away.
“I’m trying to help. Tell me what you’re experiencing?” Joy asked.
“The man in the mirror,” Jon said. “It wasn’t me.”
Joy and Loxy exchanged glances and back to Jon.
“How hard did she hit you?” Joy asked.
“No one hit me,” Jon said. “I was with Doctor Gates, he had this ball, kind of like that one you had that hatched Cheeka, and I dropped it, and then suddenly, the world changed, and I found myself being attacked by a tiger.”
Joy and Loxy stared at him for the longest moment in silence, searching his face for humor. If it had been a live television show, the dead air time would have been driving the executives crazy, while the camera man, zooming in to capture subtle muscle twitches, narrowing of eyes, then the puckering of lips as they tried to constrain their amusement from erupting into laughter. Jon was clearly sore about this, completely forgetting about being perturbed by the man in the mirror.
“What?” Jon asked.
“Is Doctor Gates your psychiatrist?” Joy asked.
“He is not that kind of Doctor,” Jon said.
“A PCP perhaps?” Loxy asked.
“I don’t know if he does drugs,” Jon said.
“No, primary care physician,” Loxy corrected.
“No, he’s a physicist,” Jon said.
“Oh, he specializes in Pokémon,” Joy said, coming back to all seriousness.
“No! There are no Pokémon in my world,” Jon said.
“Oh!” Joy and Loxy both exclaimed. Loxy continued: “A world without Pokémon?!
What a horrible place. Are you sure you weren’t having a nightmare?”
“I am not making this up,” Jon said.
“You’re telling me, you were captured by a Poké Ball, in another world, passed through the system, and accidentally expelled from my Poké Ball meant to capture Growlithe?” Loxy said.
Jon sorted through her statement. “That’s the only conclusion I have at the moment,” Jon said.
“No human has ever been captured by a Poké Ball. It’s designed not to affect humans,” Joy said.
“Well, Doctor Gates was trying to modify the tech,” Jon mused.
“I can solve this,” Loxy said, pulling a device out of her bag. “If he passed through the system, then he is going to show up on my Pokédex…”
When examining the last sighting, as based on a catch attempt, she found an image of Jon. Loxy mouth fell agape. Joy read it for her: “Level 1 Human, average, origin: the third planet from a star called Sol, North American region, age undetermined, abilities undetermined, wisdom undetermined, experience undetermined, story unresolved. Caught by, Loxy Isadora Bliss 4200LIB. Wow! It looks like you caught yourself a man.”
“I didn’t want a man,” Loxy said. “I want a Growlithe!”
“Can I have him?” Joy asked.
Jon was sorting their conversation trying to figure out if he should be frighten, angry, or all the other emotions that were flowing through his filters.
“You want him?” Loxy asked.
“I’ll trade you a Pikachu for him,” Joy said.
“You would trade a Pikachu for a 50 something year old Caucasian human male, out of shape, out of time, out of world, probably out of his mind, for a Pickachu?” Loxy asked.
“Well, sure. He’s a one of a kind,” Joy said.
“Point taken. But what would you do with a human Pokémon?” Loxy asked.
“Oh, I don’t know; hug him, squeeze him, kiss him, love him, scratch him behind his ears,” Joy said, musing, her eyes going up and left, dreamily. She turned to Jon and pinched his cheek. “Pretty much what I do with all Pokémon.” She turned back to Loxy who was weighing the trade. “So, what do you think?”
Jon fell out of his chair as an Ekans reached up to sniff his knee. He scrambled backwards, bumping into Loxy and the Nurse’s knees.
“Oh, there you are, Ekans,” Joy said, picking him up and petting him. “Well?” Joy asked.
“I am thinking,” Loxy said.
Once Jon was on the floor he was overrun by all the Pokémon in the nurse’s office.
“They do seem to like him” Loxy mused.
“They must think he’s just another Pokémon,” Joy said.
Loxy’s device alerted her to an incoming call. She switched screens and opened it up.
“Hello?” she said, even as a man stepped into the video portion.
Loxy and Joy smiled at the attractive, salt and peppered haired man in the image.
“Hi there, I am Professor Willow,” he said. To Jon, he sounded exactly like the radio announcer Jim Thorton.
“Hello, Daddy,” Joy said, in a very ‘not daddy’ kind of way.
“Hello, Joy. And, if I am not mistaken, 4200LIB, or Loxy?” Willow asked.
“Umm, hi,” Loxy said, shyly.
Jon felt a pang of jealousy the way the girls were responding to the cellphone image. He tried to stand up, but was tripped by a Pokémon.
“I am sorry to intrude, Loxy, but I traced an extremely odd event to your device, but wasn’t certain until you actually opened up the data set I was looking for,” Willow said.
“You may call me anytime, Professor,” Loxy said.
“Me, too,” Joy said.
“Thank you, ladies. Would you happen to have a young man in your possession by the name of Jon?” Willow asked.
Loxy and Joy looked at Jon, trying to hold the Pokémon at bay with a chair.
“He certainly acts younger than he looks,” Loxy said.
“I don’t understand,” Willow said.
“Jon appears to be about your age, but lacks your muscle tone and general appearance of fitness,” Joy remarked, as if grading a specimen. “Also, he has this peculiar belief that he comes from a world where there are no Pokémon.”
“Sadly,” Willow said, frowning. “That part is true.”
“Oh how sad!” Loxy and Joy both lamented. Cheeka expressed sadness in empathy with her trainer.
“Yes, it is very sad,” Willow said. “My understanding from Doctor Gates is he is a young man, not even in his teens, but it is possible that the transportation process between Universes took longer than anticipated, at least, in virtual time. Or, the process caused him to evolve. It’s imperative that I see this young man as soon as possible.”
Jon took the device from Loxy. Loxy seemed crossed, but patient at the same time.
“You know Doctor Gates?” Jon asked.
“Hello, young man. Jon, I presume?” Willow asked.
“What’s this about virtual time?” Jon asked.
“Aw, Sir, it’s very complicated, and much too involved to discuss via phone,” Willow said. “Your friend Doctor Gates is worried and would like to speak with you.”
Jon laughed. “Right. My friend.”
“I don’t understand,” Willow said.
“He isn’t my friend, Professor,” Jon said.
“While it is true I have only begun my correspondence with Doctor Gates, he strikes me to be an admirable fellow, and I assure you that you are the present source of our immediate dialogue. You are an enigma, maybe even a game changer. I would like you to present yourself to Pokémon Zem. I am due to give a lecture series there, and that is probably the fastest way for us to connect.”
Loxy and Joy came to either side of Jon so they could see Willow.
“You want me to do what?” Jon asked.
“Don’t worry, Professor,” Loxy said. “I will personally deliver him to you at the Pokémon Technical Institute.”
“What if I don’t want to go?” Jon asked.
“Well, no one can make you do anything, Jon,” Willow said. “It’s not our way to force people to do things they don’t want to do. I do, think, however, that I am the best chance on delivering you back to your world, which would go a far way to easing Doctor Gates concern for having harmed you.”
Jon sorted out what he was told, looked to Loxy, looked to Joy, looked at the Pokémon who were all sitting and looking at the humans as if they were the most fascinating things they had ever seen. Jon laughed.
Loxy, Joy, and Willow smiled, pleased that he was pleased.
“Screw that,” Jon said.
Their smiles faded. Joy seemed surprised.
“Excuse me?” Willow asked.
“Okay, so far, this world seems a little whacked, but if this is not a delusion, and I really just jumped planets, then I assure you, good Professor, there is not a chance in hell I will be returning to Earth,” Jon said. “See ya!”
Jon handed the device back to Loxy, ignoring the surprised look on Willow’s face, proceeded towards the door that led back to the streets of his new world. Loxy, Joy, and Willow for as best as he could, watched Jon depart, his step quickening, a burst energy causing him to jump and click his heels while in midair, and then he was gone out the door.
“Loxy,” Willow said. “A little word of advice?”
“Um, like, don’t invest too much energy in him because he’s going to break my heart?” Loxy asked.
“No,” Willow said. “How old are you?”
“Sorry, what were you going to advise?” Loxy asked.
“Um, I recommend not telling people he’s your Pokémon, or everyone will be wanting one, and you might find yourself in some serious competition with him, because even if they can’t secure a trade, they’re going to want to test him and gain info,” Loxy said.
“You want me to ball him and put him away?” Loxy asked.
“Wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Willow said. “For his own safety.”
“Oh, what if he doesn’t want to go?” Joy asked. “Pokémon should be able to opt out of balls and battles.”
“Yes, Joy, you have been quite consistent with trying to push your senator in endorsing your philosophy through legislation,” Willow said.
“Well, maybe if you see what I have to see every day, you would be an activist, too,” Joy said.
“Maybe so,” Willow agreed.
Meanwhile, Jon’s departure had erupted into a full song and dance. The sky looked crisp and clean. The sun was bright and beautiful. The air was fresh in his lungs. He began to stroll, and immediately began to sing: “I never thought my life could be anything but catastrophe But suddenly I begin to see a bit of good luck for me'” sustaining ‘me’ much longer than the original, and then, as if an aside to the people and Pokémon staring at him, he pointed to the sun and the moon still visible in the day sky. “Cause I've got a golden ticket. To his surprise, no one seemed to mind that he was singing. In fact, they were quite amused. Pleased even! He rushed up and hugged a Pokémon and his trainer. Everyone here seemed to have a Pokémon and everyone seemed happy. Sure, it occurred to them they might actually be crazy, too, which might also explain how they tolerated his level of crazy, but maybe, so he reasoned, maybe that’s what happens when the whole world is dedicated to the perfection of one thing, like ending world hunger, or poverty, or Pokémon training. He finished the song, and everyone returned to their business. He felt suddenly depleted, but still happy. He wasn’t quite sure what to do next. Apparently, he decided, euphoria can only carry you a few block, and then, seriously, you need a plan of action.
A man approached and offered him an item. “Here, Sir, have a Pokémon candy,” he said.
“Why, thank you, Sir,” Jon said, accepting the candy.
“My pleasure, Sir. I mean, my bag is full, and I so hate to throw candy away, and you seem so happy, singing,” he said. “God bless you and your Pokémon.”
The man continued on. Again, the euphoric feel of the pedestrians seemed a bit creepy. It was creepy like Stepford Wives creepy, or Twilight Zone Creepy. Kids played with Pokémon. A heavy set woman chased a Pokémon out of her restaurant and gave it warning point, and then she went back inside. The Pokémon followed her, and they repeated this exercise. This baffled him.
He didn’t have a watch, but he imagined if he did, he could measure and predict the repetitiousness of it. Another Pedestrian approached him.
“I am Bill-Billy. Are you okay? You seemed lost,” he said.
“I am not sure,” Jon said. “I think I might need to find employment.”
“Oh, well, the easiest way to make money is to train Pokémon,” he said.
“Really?” Jon asked.
“Why, of course. I can’t think of any other task I would rather be doing,” he said.
“Except playing music. I really like songs about Pokémon, even if they weren’t originally about Pokémon. How many Pokémon do you have?”
“Um, none,” Jon admitted.
“That’s horrible? And at your age?” he said, and suddenly pushed on, wanting nothing more to do with the stranger.
Jon approached the heavy set woman to see if he might wash dishes.
“Can you believe this Pokémon?! I can’t keep him outside. How am I supposed to cook, if he keeps running around the restaurant?” she asked. “Would you be willing to entertain him while I attend to customers?”
“Do you have customers?” Jon asked.
“No,” she said, suddenly very sad. It was the first sadness he had experienced here. He considered it further: he had seen other emotions, such as frustration and anger and confusion, mostly on Loxy and Joy, and fear or concern on people who learned he had no Pokémon. It occurred to him, he just needed a larger sample size of people in order to find normality. He tuned back into her narrative, still unfolding. “Maybe I shouldn’t have become a trainer. Oh well. We live with the choices we make, don’t we dear?” And with that, she turned and went inside.
The Pokémon looked at him, as if smiling, and then chased after the woman, practically prancing with joy, cause it ‘owned’ this place.
Everyone Jon approached wanted to discuss Pokémon. Jon retired to the fountain, perturbed, unwrapped the Pokémon candy, and put it in his mouth. Not knowing what to do with the wrapper, he folded it and stuck it in his pocket. He did that because clearly these people keep their streets clean, so he wasn’t about to litter in his new community. He paused as he considered the flavor of the hard outer shell of the candy, which was a new taste, rather interesting, and then he bit through it and unleashed the liver center. He nearly gagged, wanted to spit, but forced himself to swallow, and then drank water straight from the fountain. He sucked air, brushing his teeth with his finger, filled his mouth with water, and when he came up, Loxy was there.
“You do know, the fountain is for Pokémon to drink from?” Loxy asked.
Jon spit the water out. “What is wrong with you people?”
Loxy shrugged. Jon sat on the edge of the Fountain.
“May I sit by you?” Loxy asked.
“I am not going back,” Jon said.
“Okay,” Loxy said.
“I mean it, seriously, I am not going back. I know Dorothy jumped through all sorts of hoops just to get back home, and Aslan always sent his visitors home after the quest was accomplished, except for that first story where they stayed till adults, which is kind of weird they became adults but still didn’t go off and have relationships with others, but I am so not going back,” Jon said.
“Okay,” Loxy said, as if she understood what he was saying. “What would you like to do instead?”
“I want to go with you to Alderaan, learn the ways of the Force, and become a Pokémon trainer like you,” Jon said.
Loxy stared at him for a long moment, pushing air between her upper lip and teeth, and then nodded as if she had figured something out. “I get the sense that there is a joke imbedded in your statement, but it requires a prerequisite knowledge set to access.”
“Really, you don’t know Star Wars?” Jon asked.
“You’re from a world that is at war with other stars? What did the stars do? We need starlight. It makes things grow and all the atoms in the Universe come from Stars. There wouldn’t be any Pokémon if not for stars,” Loxy said.
“Um, Star Wars is a euphemism for interstellar wars on a galactic scale,” Jon corrected.
“Well, that doesn’t make any sense, either, Sir. Any society capable of interstellar travel is going to be peaceful, because there is just no sense in fighting for stuff when there is so much space and stuff to be had,” Loxy said. “I mea