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NOVEMBER EVENT LOG

NOVEMBER LOG

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In the aftermath of the rampage, the city of Mango starts to put itself back together, mourning losses of its citizens and Pokemon which would have been much heavier if the calamity hadn't suddenly and mysteriously stopped. The static in the air, which the citizens had gotten so used to to the point of no longer noticing it, is now gone and the silence is almost palpable, so obvious in comparison. Even the sandstorm to the west has started to die down, so that every crunch of heel on gravel can be heard as relief pours from Toran to Mango City, volunteers empathetic and eager to return the favor, however unfortunate that the opportunity had to be this soon.

The ghost Pokemon linger for a while, helping to guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife before they disperse back into the forest, while the cemetery stands still and silent save for those working on restoring the graves and fixing structural damages. Both towers remain closed to the public, the cemetery out of respect and the radio tower due to police investigation, with the staff called in for questioning but each denying knowledge of the radio signals having an adverse effect on the Pokemon. If there is anybody with that knowledge, it would be the company president, who is currently on leave elsewhere in the region and cannot be reached due to the storms and a conspicuously missing radio antenna preventing physical and electronic communication respectively. Maybe you guys will come across him later, maybe not. Maybe he got caught up in that volcano explosion you let happen. Who knows? haha!

Either way... people are welcome to remain in Mango as long as they want, and Toran seems to be fully up and running as well. Those who make the trip back to check up on how things are going will find the island to be warm and sunny, townspeople hard at work sowing the berry gardens and expanding the daycare center, where extra Pokemon will be sent to once the maximum limit of six Pokemon in a team has been met. Several missing children posters remain hung up around the daycare, but the island feels fuller, happier, with sounds of children laughing and yelling as they rush to the game corner to pool their tokens to win the new month's prize Pokemon: Swinub which know the move Rock Smash.

But for those who have decided to push forward, the only way forward is to the west, into the sandstorm towards Melona.

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Even without raging sandstorms, the desert is rough travel and there is no reliable map to get from one place to another, especially with the way the wind naturally and occasionally picks up to start sandstorms, and it's so easy to get turned around by the wind and the cliffs and the way everything is sand for miles and miles and miles around. Little Gale King is eager to go home, looking around for somebody who will act as her guardian so they can travel with a guide straight to Melona. While taking a guide can be a bit expensive, groups up to six people can travel together for the same group price and they are guaranteed safe passage, provided with thick capes to keep the sand from buffeting them, goggles to help them see, and rental Numel to ride upon so they don't have to make the trek on foot.

The trip from Mango to Melona takes several hours, with occasional pit stops during which the guide pitches a large tent for everybody to rest in or to wait out a particularly heavy sandstorm before continuing on, but if they leave early enough in the day, they will eventually come across a huge stone dome in the middle of the desert, spanning several miles in diameter. Around the perimeter of the dome are several gates that can be opened from either side via hand cranks that require two people to operate, the thick stone walls of the dome protecting the desert town from the sun and the sand. At the apex of the dome is an open oculus that allows sunlight to shine down upon the town, and during the day, a constant beam of light illuminates the boba shop located at the very center of Melona. This shop's specialty flavor is Cacnea flower tea and its collectible stamp is a yellow Sandshrew! The boba shop is where the guides make a beeline to once everybody has been dropped off, the employees at the shop glad to hear the news that the sandstorm isn't as bad as it was in the recent month or two, but they also don't seem all that concerned about the outside world, nor were they aware of how bad things really were, with how isolated they are within this dome in the middle of the desert. Tsunamis? Volcanoes? Rampaging Pokemon? The citizens are pretty horrified, actually, and promise to send help to both Mango and Toran when the guides have rested up and are able to make the return journey.

In the meanwhile, Melona is a pretty quiet town, with everything quite scattered and far apart, less streets and more individual buildings with packed dirt paths connecting them. Next to the boba shop near the center of town is the Pokemon center which features a clinic space for people in lieu of an actual hospital, and flanking the Pokemon center on either side is the contest hall and psychic-type Pokemon gym, although the gym leader is currently absent and thus the gym is closed. Apparently it's not uncommon for him to wander off sometimes, but he has never been gone for weeks at a time and the people are getting worried. Is he lost? The last anybody heard, he had set out to find a mythical Pokemon rumored to be in the area, investigating a possible link to the abnormally long and harsh sandstorms that picked up recently, but for as competent a trainer as he is the storm was no joke and the town has never seen anything like it before. The same worry is echoed at the Pokemon school, which takes students of all ages to teach them more about Pokemon, their relationships with humans, and everybody's place in the world; several field trip groups had departed weeks ago but must have gotten caught in the sandstorms as well because they haven't yet returned. Gale is immediately concerned, and, asking around, learns that her little brother Jordan had gone on one of those field trips, and both their parents had gone with him as chaperones.

Hopefully good news will come in time, and the townspeople are patient, going about their daily business with a certain calm. For those who wish to earn some money, there is an abundance of odd jobs hiring both people and Pokemon, especially asking for Pokemon suited to specific tasks such as fire Pokemon to help cook and keep fires going at night for warmth and light, water Pokemon to water the fields and ground Pokemon to help till, flying Pokemon to check the dome for cracks to repair, fast Pokemon to make mail deliveries around town, hardy Pokemon to weather the sandstorms and keep a lookout for anybody approaching, for example. For those who looked at October and went "That was not a break month, what the heck," other places of interest include the museum containing many specimens of ancient Pokemon preserved in fossils and amber found right in the surrounding desert, offering rare items in exchange for more specimens, and... that's it, really. It's a quiet, sleepy town.

The days are hot and the nights are long, but when the sun goes down and the electricity is shut off overnight, the view above is spectacular. Thousands upon thousands of stars can be seen overhead, sparkling like diamonds in the pitch black of the oculus, while candle lit rock salt lamps line the street sides to provide a soft, temptingly lickable, warm glow below.

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But perhaps you're not the sort to just sit around and wait for things to happen. Perhaps you're the sort to dive headfirst into trouble despite the multiple danger warnings. Perhaps you were just foolhardy enough to have ventured into the desert from Mango without a guide, thinking that you could save a few bucks and make an adventure out of finding Melona all on your own. Those leaving Melona may be stopped by townspeople on the outskirts offering to sell them escape ropes, which will allow them to escape the ruins and appear right in front of them again if they're ever caught in a sticky situation, along with other food, water, and camping supplies. One man in particular suggests catching an Abra to teleport you right back to Melona— or if you prefer, he is also offering to trade one of his own.

Those leaving Mango are out of luck.

Either way, even if it takes days (and if you're wandering blindly, it's going to take days), you will eventually come across one of the ruins scattered throughout the desert. Hopefully you came prepared, not only for the travel, but for whatever awaits inside the ruins! The ruins look like this, aka the first thing that pops up in Google Images, but while some of the pillars still stand, most have collapsed and lay buried in the sand, presumably due to the massive sandstorm that raged the entire month prior. The sand is soft and hard to walk on, constantly shifting over uneven ground and quite a bit of digging might be required to locate hidden underground entrances or other secrets. The ancient ruins seem to be a bit unstable, with evidence of cave-ins here and there, the potential for further cave-ins the deeper inside the ruins one ventures, and with the lack of light and constantly branching halls, one could be stuck down here forever exploring the labyrinths underneath the ruins. Maybe you'll never escape. Maybe you'll live and die here, and get to do just that (:

No wild Pokemon can be found without thirty feet of any of the surface ruins. Every few hours, a slight tremor can briefly be felt underfoot, barely noticeable at the start of the month and becoming somewhat concerning as the month progresses. Everything is fine.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ It's November!! Somehow! When I'm at work and am writing dates, sometimes I autopilot 2010 and sometimes it's 2021 and ig I just want everything to be over.
⬥ Ruins investigations are currently capped at two investigations per player to allow your mods space to breathe, but is likely to be lifted as the month progresses and investigations wrap up. As a hint, it would be highly worthwhile to investigate the area and question npcs first, and in particular find the gym leader, before heading into the ruins! If you do decide to run blindly into the ruins, though, we'll have a good time (:
⬥ As a reminder, the gym leader must be located and brought back to the gym before any challenges can take place. The contest hall, on the other hand, is open from the start of the month. For both, please comment on the appropriate toplevel for submissions!
⬥ Please comment to the new Pokemon toplevel for trading with the NPC, making a note of which Pokemon you would like to trade for his Abra. As a reminder, traded Pokemon are able to gain +15 levels a month through bonus activity, and traded Abras are able to evolve into its final evolution, Alakazam.
⬥ As an alternative to the daycare in Toran, Pokemon can also be given jobs around Melona if they aren't in your main party. OOCly, players are allowed to give each of their Pokemon +5 levels (not counting towards the bonus activity level cap) one time only for this month, regardless of the number of jobs the Pokemon takes. ICly, the Pokemon will be unavailable for one week while they're at work, so please be mindful of which Pokemon are available in your threads at what time of month! Please also be aware of the badge/ribbon requirements for higher level Pokemon to continue obeying, applicable to the total number of unique badges/ribbons in the travelling group.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Gonna protect this smol birb with their lives....and also ask to see if anyone knows which ruins Jordan's class went to!

Good, you'd better.

Almost everybody involved in the field trips also went on the field trips, but the staff left at school say that the younger kids tend to be grouped together and explore the ruins in the east. Parents do not chaperone their own children's groups, to prevent favoritism (:

Of course. Does this mean the Kings did not go east, or did they go east just in a different part of the ruins?

The Kings would've gone east! Just in different ruins, with the parents in one group and Jordan in another.

I'm not going to make you guys search 230498584 different ruins just to find them, so it'll just be two. You guys can have the choice of tackling one ruin at a time, or splitting the group into two.

They're going to tackle them as a group for now, maybe splitting up later.

o7

The guide brings the group eastward, towards one of the ruins he knows is frequented by the students because it isn't very big to begin with, so nobody should have gotten lost. The travel time is about an hour, enough for them to ask the guide any questions they might have before they arrive at the ruins.

Once they get there, the guide frowns a little, and says that the entrance they normally go through seems to have collapsed. With so many of them, it shouldn't take too long for them to clear away the rock blocking the entrance, but with the sandstorms and ground shifting, it's also possible new entrances have opened up that weren't there before. Will they work on unblocking the original entrance in hopes that the trapped field trippers returned to the entrance, or will they try to seek another entrance in hopes that the trapped field trippers are somewhere deeper in the ruins?

Also Pepper doesn't seem to like the sand very much, and insists on staying safely tucked into somebody's shirt with his head poking out of the collar, please. Who is carrying Pepper?

We're going to try and remove the rubble, and would Pepper be alright in Efi's big hair ribbon instead of a shirt?

Pepper likes being swaddled up on all sides so he's comfy and warm and secure, but he will take the hair ribbon.

The group is able to remove the rubble and the guide makes sure the entrance is supported again so it doesn't cave in behind them before they head inside. He plans to wait outside to keep an eye on the ruins in case something collapses and he'll be able to help dig them out from the outside, or in case of other emergencies. Is this alright with everybody, or would they insist that he comes with them?

It seems sensible enough, so if the guide wants to wait out near the front no one will stop them!

Onwards into the dungeon! I get to feel like a real DM and ask you guys for a marching order, please (:

The entrance leads down some half-crumbled rock steps, liable to break underfoot if they aren't careful and send them tumbling down twenty feet, until it reaches a hallway wide enough for three or four people to walk comfortably side by side. There is no source of light down here other than what they bring with them, so that's something to keep in mind for whoever is up front?

It's very quiet, and very dusty, and the moment they all reach the bottom of the stairs, a tremor runs though the ruins and a whole bunch of sand rains down on everybody's heads. Pepper chirps in surprise and buries himself deeper into Efi's ribbon, and a louder, more prolonged rumble can be heard further down the hall. This place might be a little unstable. Will they walk or run?

We have light sources! Mostly magical I think but hey. I think Rhel's in front with Joss slightly behind her but otherwise idk order.

And because this is a party that is mostly JRPG protags with various skills...using Akira's Raoul, Sagi's wings, and Joss being able to jump they're just going to buddy up and

uh

fly towards safety. Yeet ourselves across the room.

The hall is like ten feet wide but I will be kind and say that it is much taller and you jrpg protags jumping and flying do not immediately bonk your heads on the ceiling and bring the entire structure down with you. Also what's funny is that the rumble happens further down the hall and everybody's just rushing in towards it instead of away, imagine this face from me this entire time:

Joss jumping is also very funny, because kicking off on unstable ground? It definitely collapses, I don't know what you guys expected. No can decide whether Joss is quick enough to avoid falling in with everybody in his charge, but that sure is a gaping hole leading to the floor below! For those flying, they'd be able to catch Joss in time to prevent him from falling if he's too slow, otherwise if they continue forward, they will see that the hall splits left and right, with the rumbling heard louder on the left and the path to the right already half collapsed, leaving a wide enough gap for people to squeeze through one at a time.

What are you all going to do!! Where are you all going to go!!! Also let me know how you guys want to pace things re replying to this investigation vs waiting for you guys to thread things out, I keep an eye on your log too.

We're gonna get this last mod response and then RP before asking for another! But the party is going to split at this point:

Left
- Fai
- Akira (+Raoul)
- Sagi

Right
- Rhel
- Joss
- Efi

o7 since you guys are splitting, feel free to reply to this comment with each group and I can reply to them separately once everything's caught up

On the left: the ground continues to tremble as the group makes their way down the hall, and it gets harder to see in the darkness even with a source of light, with how dusty and hard to breath it becomes. At least the walls aren't collapsing in on themselves, and this seems to be the main path most tourists take, seeing as the ground is well packed and largely clear of rock and other debris expected from ancient ruins with no regular maintenance. There are markings on the walls on both side, what looks like symbols or drawings but the carvings are faint, and impossible to read once they get to around chest level. aka about the height hundreds of schoolchildren would be able to most easily reach and touch and rub out the carvings through the years. They don't have much time to admire these carvings, though, because left path is cave-in path! Hope this group has some idea how to either stop the cave-in entirely, or to protect themselves while the hall collapses and comes to a natural stop, otherwise they're getting buried.

On the right: once everybody is through the hole, they find that the ground starts to gently slope downwards. And then very steeply downwards, and instead of the neatly carved stone that made up the upper ruins where they first entered, the ground here is more crude, fairly rocky and it's easy to twist one's ankle if they aren't careful of where they're stepping. Best keep an eye on the sand as well as the rock, because hidden along the slope are many sand pits dug by Trapinch who will very eagerly nip at people's feet if accidentally step into one of the traps, as well as Galarian Stunfisk half hidden in the sand who will also spring their bear traps around people's ankles. It's a hungry Pokemon den (: There is a lone sneaker lying right in the middle of all the Pokemon (:

Team Right is trying to put this cranky 'mons to sleep with Sleep Powder, and Joss is going to carefully check for traps with his spear! What happens?

Joss' spear is going to get a beating setting off traps left and right, but at least nobody's feet get caught in them! Once the Pokemon poke their heads out, thinking they'd caught prey and being disappointed, Sleep Powder successfully gets them to fall back asleep.

With these two strategies, the team will be able to rush through the den and get out the other side to proceed, but if they linger and intend to investigate the shoe, the burrowed Pokemon will wise up to their plan and start attacking before they can be put to sleep. The sleep powder might also get kicked up into the air and affect the party.

What will they do?

Real quick: there's no blood on or near the shoe?

With all the dust and dirt kicked up, it's hard to tell for sure, but at a quick glance, there doesn't seem to be any blood on or near the shoe!

In that case they're going to leave the shoe and cross the room. Finding the owner of the shoe > looking at the shoe, especially with all these asshole Pokemon

my asshole Pokemon just wanting to eat to survive, who can blame them for wanting to live u_u

The group makes it out to the other side fairly unscathed as the ground starts to slop back up and evens out. At the end of the hall is a small room where a dusty backpack lies. Inside, they find two empty potions bottles, an empty Pokeball (which can be taken and reused), and a short length of rope that seems to have been burned on either end, barely two feet long and no good for escaping. If there were any footprints around, they've long been obscured by the many Pokemon tracks crossing through the hall.

Pushing forward, they again come to a split in the path, the right tunnel seeming a bit narrower than the left one, but otherwise it's too dark too see ahead for either. How do you want to proceed?

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