NOVEMBER EVENT LOG

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NOVEMBER LOG

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→ THIS IS A HEADER!

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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.

→ ICHI WE MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU

(click to expand - with all our hearts)

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.

→ ICHI WRITES ALL THESE HEADERS

(click to expand - Ori headers are just like this haha)

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.

Comments

ii, some time between 11/4-10

[nyom]

[ Efi looks like a 15-year old when she looks over at Fai while holding a Cyndaquil. Maybe Fai doesn't recognize her on the spot when he isn't actively searching for her, but Efi runs up to him with the usual smile. ]

Mister Fai! Can we have some boba too? I wanna try out the new one in Melona.

[ Cyndaquil raises his nubby arms in the air as if to agree. He wants to try boba too. ]

[partymagician]

[ It takes him a moment to really recognize her. While he thinks this girl looks a lot like Efi, it doesn't really register that it is her until he hears the "Mister Fai". ]

Of course you can! I'm looking forward to trying out the new flavor myself.

[nyom]

I wonder how it'll taste like~

[ She's still pretty short... around 5 feet tall. But still, she looks chipper as usual while carrying her Cyndaquil around. ]

But you knew it was me!

[partymagician]

Of course I did! You said something that gave you away!

[ He smiles at her, noting how she may be taller, but she still has the same amount of energy.

They're pretty close to the boba shop already, so he guides Efi along. ]

[nyom]

Some people didn't because I suddenly got bigger! Mister Joss said that if I eat a lot of soup, I can get bigger, so I did. And now I'm bigger!

[ She looks super happy about it too. Too bad she'll be disappointed when the bonus wears off. ]

But what did I say? I don't remember having him with me last time we saw each other though.

[ She looks down at Cyndaquil. Boba man, boba man, take us to boba land. ]

[partymagician]

[ The power of soup... ]

You called me Mister Fai. Only you and Miss Ala call me that.

[ He said he would call her Miss Ala and he is committing to it. ]

Combined with your energy, it wasn't hard to figure out.

[nyom]

[ Efi makes a noise that sounds like she's amazed by Fai's deduction. ]

How come no one else calls you that?

[partymagician]

That's a good question! Do you think more people should call me Mister Fai?

[ The boba shop is in sight now, a beautiful glowing spot in the center of town. ]

[nyom]

Yeah--

[ Oooh... She looks up at the pillar of light. That looks so cool! It's like... it's almost like... ]

Is there treasure inside??

[ Nanami gave her video games. Clearly, this must be true. ]

[partymagician]

There definitely is!

[ He grins. The way it glows makes it look powerful, like something from those comics Kurogane is always reading. ]

Do you want to know what it is?

[nyom]

Is it... free boba?

[ What else would be inside a boba store??? ]

[partymagician]

That's right! Well... sort of.

[ They've finally arrived and Fai holds open the door for her. ]

They may not give you free boba, but I will!

[nyom]

[ Efi giggles and hops into the store when Fai holds the door open for her. ]

Thanks, Mister Fai! Do you think I should go back to Toran to get that one stamped too?

[ It's a long way... ]

[partymagician]

[ Fai would normally say yes, but Efi is usually a tiny child and he has no idea if she's going to stay older like this. ]

Hmmm... if you want the prize, then you might want to go back. I would like to accompany you, though.

[ He's not going to let her go alone. ]

[nyom]

Do you need to go to Toran too?

[ She just assumes it's because of the daycare despite how her daycare pokemon are in Melona, doing pokemon jobs here and there.

Though, good on Fai to not make it sound like it's because she's a kid. ]

[partymagician]

I don't need to go, but I would like to see how everything is coming along! I'd like to see my old workplace too.

[ But mostly, he just wants to keep Efi safe... ]

So tell me if you do go. I don't want to go all the way back on my own.

[nyom]

Okay! I'll be sure to let you know, Mister Fai.

[ Cyndaquil raises his nubby arms again as if to cheer. Yay! And well, what Fai is saying isn't really a lie anyway, so it's fine. ]

Cackney tea...

[ Cacnea. ]

[partymagician]

[ Fai raises his hands up a little in response too. Yay, indeed! ]

That's right!

[ The way she says it is cute so he's not going to correct her. ]

It's probably a flower from a pokemon, if it's a floral tea. I wonder if it'll be sweet or more on the neutral side. What kind of tea do you like, Efi?

[nyom]

I don't drink tea, so I don't know.

[ With her sweet tooth and her actual diet consisting of lie blobs, maybe she should actually try some tea. Cyndaquil likes Fai already, because it's still a baby and rather easy to please. Wow. How many of my characters' pokemon like Fai at this point... (a lot) ]

But I wanna try it. Is it really sweet?

[ She still has her sweet tooth, despite looking like a teen now. She's never going to grow out it. Probably like Fai. ]

[partymagician]

[ He's the Snow White of pokmeon at all times, it seems... ]

It can be! There are also more herbal teas, but I prefer the sweet ones myself.

[ Never grow out of that sweet tooth, Efi. ]

Let's try out the special here and see if it's sweet! If it's not, I'll buy you one that I know is.

[nyom]

Okay!

[ She seems pretty satisfied with that answer and Cyndaquil squirms in her hold. ]

Oh, you want one too?

[ Cyndaquil nods, which leads to Efi looking up at Fai. ]

Can he have one too? I think he likes sour stuff though.

[partymagician]

Of course he can!

[ He looks at Cyndaquil. ]

Do you want to try the Cacnea flower tea too? Or do you want one that will definitely be sour?

[nyom]

[ Cyndaquil claps its nubby arms twice. That probably looks like it just wants something sour. It's not quite the adventurous type yet... ]

[partymagician]

[ He laughs. ]

Alright! Sour one it is. I'll go ahead and go place our order. Why don't you find a table?

[ And just as he says, since the line is short he's able to go up to the counter and order two Cacnea flower teas and one of the sour berry flavors. ]

[nyom]

Okay!

[ Efi continues to carry Cyndaquil and goes over to find a table. The window tables are very... bright for some reason. Efi doesn't like that, so she picks someplace a little more inward, but it's not completely surrounded by other tables. She finally lets go of Cyndaquil after she sits, putting him on her lap. His long face keeps poking the table... ]