>>34870937>TotT: What is the experience of being in a pokeball like?Depends on the rules of the narrative I'm rolling with, since my headcanon about it is fairly fluid depending on what aspects of it to play up as canon's explanations seem to be scattershot and inconsistent across branches.
I think the simplest answer would be that 'it varies', with the experience depending on the design of the Pokéball. Within my own longfic, being sucked into the local analogue of a Pokéball is most likely akin to those BW episodes that showed Iris' Dragonite sitting in one with a whole lot of whopping nothing within, making for a lonely and disorienting experience.
>Is it unpleasant? Depends on the Pokéball. I can't imagine that a social creature would take well to long stints inside a boring, solitary void. But game fluff seems to indicate that at least some Pokéballs such as nest balls mimic the sensations of different habitats and as a result are more enjoyed by certain Pokémon. I suspect that pairing a Pokémon with a Pokéball is a lot like fitting a shoe, if you get the wrong one, you're bound for quite a bit of awkwardness until it gets "broken in" or else replaced.
>Are pokemon aware of the passage of time? Yes, but it is dulled, and their ability to parse what's going on outside is likely limited-to-nonexistent.
>Do they still age or grow hungry while in a ball?Yes to both, especially since all canons show Pokémon being fed outside of their balls. My presumption is that modern Pokéballs likely have properties akin to Enertrons from Chrono Trigger that can keep Pokémon alive even if unfed, but do nothing to stop the obvious sensation of there not being food in one's stomach. Less modern Pokéballs potentially do not have that, and the analogues in my longfic definitely don't have it as it's possible to starve to death within it.
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