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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.

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M, mrrwrrr... [Picking himself up, Sagi frantically shakes his head, or at least tries - it mostly looks like he's shaking off the dust from the mart floor.] Mrrrrrh.

[If he had difficulty communicating anything before, it's even harder while keeping his jaws clamped onto the metallic filigree of the card. Frankly, he's over it. It's frustrating, and he's hungry.]

[ Efi lowers herself to the ground, resting her chin on her knees while looking at Sagi kitty. ]

Are you hungry, kitty? I can get you some food, but I should probably find Sagi too. They yelled his name for some reason, so he might be in trouble.

[ Efi has absolutely no idea what a cat eats, but she gets some beef jerky anyway. Everyone likes these, right?? ]

[Sagi has no idea what a cat eats either, so as far as he's concerned, this is fine. He follows Efi to the counter, trying as hard as he can not to look like a shoplifter despite the magnus still in his mouth, and... notices that he's drooling on it when she pays for the jerky. Eww. He attempts to turn around and wipe it off on his fur, but it doesn't help much, so he gives up and just waits.

It takes a lot of willpower to sit there on the floor instead of going straight for the food, but he manages. He just stares straight up at her, his eyes large and round.]

[ Big round eyes... Efi thinks the cat is cute! After paying for the jerky and getting a discount because they think she's a little girl doing errands (wow, how responsible!) she gestures at Sagi to follow her to the waiting room of the Pokemon Center, which isn't too far. She opens the packaging and sits on the cushiony seats, patting the place next to her for Sagi to come up too. She isn't sure how to handle a cat enough to pick one up. ]

Here you go!

[ She holds out the piece of beef jerky. ]

[It seems that whatever tripped Sagi up before isn't preventing him from hopping up onto things, even though it made his legs seize up once or twice when Efi got too far ahead of him and he tried to catch up with her. So... physical exertion, but not every kind? What's the pattern? He can't figure it out, which is definitely going to annoy him once he's eaten - but for now, the fact that he can see the jerky right there is overwhelming every other thought in his head. Even the ones he normally has trouble keeping inside his head.

He makes it onto the seat next to Efi and decides it's probably safe to lay his card down on the seat cushion. Sitting on it means it can't get away from him, right? Next, bristly whiskers tickling her hand, he tugs the piece of jerky away from Efi's hand to gnaw on. It tastes incredibly weird to him, borderline unpleasant, and he's clearly struggling to chew. But it's food, so he persists.]

[ efi thinks it's kinda funny when Sagi sits on the card in a way that kids find so many little things amusing. Efi stares at him, and the only thing she realizes from her observation is that it's hard to eat. Hm.

Efi rummages through her bag for a pair of scissors (they're clean), and takes back a piece of jerky that Sagi isn't currently eating. She cuts it into smaller chunks and then puts them in front of Sagi again. ]

Is that better?

[He has to pause his clumsy attempts at eating and look up to nod at her.] Mrrbl.

[It looks to him like she probably won't catch on that it's him... That's a pain, but it's fair enough. He probably wouldn't catch on if their positions were reversed, either. He'll just go with it.]

[ At least she can understand simple gestures like nodding, so she grins when it looks like she did something good. She definitely doesn't know about the "other people turning into animals" thing, and what she categorizes living beings into is already questionable as it is, but at least she acknowledges that cat!Sagi is actually a cat instead of... a human. ]

Do you want something to drink too? I have a juice box! Or, um... Fresh Water? Water might be better.

[Sagi looks up at the ceiling for a good couple of seconds, but then back at Efi, shaking his head again. Weird taste aside, he already feels a little better for getting some kind of food inside of him. He really shouldn't impose on her more. He intends to just run away soon.

He resumes gnawing on the jerky first, though, since he figures she isn't going to want it back. He's still having a little trouble. It's not the size that's the issue so much as him not being entirely sure what his teeth are currently doing.]

[ Efi looks a little concerned when it looks like Sagi is still having a hard time eating. She thought the shrinking portions were good enough, but apparently not. ]

It doesn't taste good, kitty?

Meow.

[Turns out it's difficult to make a meow sound reassuring, all the more so when your voice is muffled from your ongoing clumsy attempts at eating. All he gets is a scrap of meat stuck to one of his whiskers for his trouble, somehow. What a weird feeling.]

[ Efi notices the meat stuck to his whiskers and figures that's not a good thing to just let happen, so she reaches over cautiously over to his whiskers. ]

You got some stuff stuck here, kitty. Can I help you get it off?

[Sagi doesn't think anything of it until Efi's hand actually brushes a whisker. Oh jeez, that feels even weirder, and not in a comfortable way. If anyone's going to touch his face, let it be his girlfriend. With a small feline beep of surprise, he drops the remainder of the jerky and tries to scramble back - only for his legs to lock up again, preventing him from achieving much more than flopping onto his side. He's still not allowed to run.

His hind leg slips on the blank magnus card he was sitting on and knocks it off the seat, onto the floor. Shoot.]

--Ah.

[ Efi is surprised by Sagi's sudden actions that just leaves her to stare at what happened for a moment before she leans over to pick up the magnus card from the floor. Yeah, this... is definitely Sagi's. She goes over to Sagi though, worried that he just kinda flopped onto the floor. ]

Sorry, kitty... um, are you okay? Are you hurt?

Mew...

[This is so annoying. He picks himself up, but he still can't tell what's causing his legs to do this when he walked over here and even hopped up on the seat just fine.

Even more pressingly, Efi just picked up his card. It may technically be stolen imperial property now, but that doesn't mean he wants it falling into the wrong hands! He already had trouble earlier in the month with that one Toran 4-year-old who figured out his katana magnus somehow... Sorry, Efi, he feels obligated to jump up and try to swat it back out of her grasp.] Rrah!

[ Efi lets out a startled yelp, dropping the card. Success! ]

Ah! What did I do?! I'm sorry for touching your face, kitty!

[Success! The only casualties are Sagi's dignity, because the corner of the card bonks him on the nose as it falls down, and his conscience, because he sure did just slap at a little kid. A little kid who is currently considerably bigger than him, but that's beside the point.

He picks the card up with his mouth again. It tastes of dusty floor. Wonderful. Regardless, having recovered it, he should leave her alone. Sadly beeping an attempt at an apology that doesn't come across in the slightest, he turns to dart away through the Pokemon Centre doors - and falls on his stomach again, because that counted as running and his legs still won't cooperate. What the heck! He's seriously getting annoyed now.]

[ Ah... well, it looks like kitty wants to go, so she will let it go. She is still kinda concerned about the card, but she figures Sagi will find it because he's good at a bunch of things! Yeah!! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

NOVEMBER EVENT LOG

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ THIS IS A HEADER!

→ ICHI WE MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU

→ ICHI WRITES ALL THESE HEADERS

→ MOD NOTES

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