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DECEMBER LOG PT1

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→ OH THANK GOD

(click to expand - the boba shop survived!!)

Sandstorms quietly continue to blow across Melona's desert, tinged black with ash carried over from the west where the volcano still intermittently sputters and spits, its hiccups and coughs darkening the sky to the west. Occasionally, a clap of thunder can be heard even as far as Melona's dome, and a shadow can be seen within the ash clouds looming above the mountains. Whispered rumors travel throughout the region, carrying warnings that "The storm is alive," remembering the destruction wrought upon Toran and the volcanic eruption two months ago that had devastated Hami, the town to the northwest. For two months, the heat and the ash had choked the skies over the mountains of Hami, but eventually, the lava stops flowing. Eventually, the skies begin to clear. Eventually, the people of Melona become curious enough— concerned enough— aware enough that their life inside their bubble that blinded them to the plights of the world at large— to start sending small groups out to Hami to see what aid, if any, they might require. The gym leader himself wanted to head the expedition, worried about his friend and fellow gym leader in the neighboring town, but he got yelled at enough for leaving his post during the last month that he reluctantly agrees to remain at the gym. Because, apparently, challenging gyms is very very important to some people, never mind the world being in a crisis and the safety of both people and Pokemon being at stake.

Instead, the desert guides are the ones who lead the way to Hami, knowing the desert and the mountains and are able to carve the most direct path towards the town. Self-sufficient as the townspeople of Melona tend to be, they do not ask for volunteers to join them, but they do not turn down help either, whether from bleeding hearts who want to do everything they can to assist people in need, or those who just want to get to the next town for their badges and ribbons. Like the trek from Mango to Melona, travel to Hami also takes several days of camping, of riding upon Numel through the sand, of climbing mountains and scaling unstable cliffs because there is no well-worn path from the ground to the peak. And nestled in the middle of the mountains, where Hami is supposed to be...

Ash and cinders. A field of rubble. Skeletons of buildings jutting up out of the ground where they are half collapsed and half buried in the ground, flames licking what little wood and scraps of cloth remain and hungering to devoid the new souls that have stepped within their domain. Aside from the rescue team from Melona, there is not another soul in sight, no sound of everyday chatter in the distance nor husks of bodies left charred on the ground. In this town laid to ruin, a single building has been left relatively untouched by the flow of lava that had run through its streets and washed away all its people. The sign hanging above the front door, blackened at the edges, reads: "Hami Boba." Inside, a single worker in uniform can be seen slumped over the counter, who is startled so badly when the door opens that she falls off her stool and blanches as if she'd seen a ghost— which is exactly what she thought, because who else would be here in Hami after everything that had happened? The volcano had erupted two months ago, she explains, all of the sudden without warning and most of the townspeople were forced to leave. Others stayed behind, those with rock and ground Pokemon who weren't bothered by the heat, or those with water and ice Pokemon who were willing to tough it out to battle the lava and the flames in an effort to save their town. This war against nature lasted over a month, and nobody ever came to their aid... But eventually, it became clear that their greatest threat came from the sky, from the ash that fell upon the land like a woolen blanket and smothered all the air, driving the last of the resistance fighters out.

In the end, the only person left in the entire town was her. The boba shop was constructed with the nearby volcano in mind, and there is no lack of things to eat inside the shop when there was only herself to ration for, but the funny thing is... even though she was stuck indoors and was horrifyingly lonely, she could feel a cool breeze pass through the shop every once in a while, and the air remained fresh. It felt as if there were something watching over her, she explains shyly, and there must have been, because she held onto that hope all this time and her patience finally paid off. Her first customers in two months!! Would they like some boba? The store's specialty is Shuckle berry juice boba! The stamps are a little dried out, but you get a cute red Slugma stamp for visiting this shop.

→ WELCOME TO THE NEW HAMA

(click to expand - it's free to live out here)

So, there's that. There is no town, not really. No gym, no contest hall. But the Melona guides aren't satisfied with leaving it at that, so they stock up on all the Shuckle berry juice boba they can carry and continue their search for the town's residents. They offer up Abras to teleport anybody who doesn't want to continue back to Melona, and then split into small groups to spread out across the mountainside, winding around smoldering lava lakes and trudging through paths knee high in ash. Here and there, all across the mountain range, small campsites can be seen. Up on a ledge on the cliffside, a group of people can be seen foraging berries alongside some wild Mankey. Out in the open in a valley, another group of people are seen roasting meat and nuts over several wild Torkoals' backs. At the base of one of the mountains, another group of people and Machop are hard at work breaking large boulders into smaller pieces to build shelter. Rather than having relocated to a single area, the people of Hami seem to have scattered to live in the mountains, welcome enough to the Melona guides and those who accompany them but denying that they need any help or expressing any real desire to reform a central town. There is no need, after all. Everything they need to live on is provided by the land and the wild Pokemon who share not only their habitat, but where to find food and water, and keep them warm and safe through the night. The volcano still grumbles from time to time, the seas around them continue to churn with relentless whirlpools, and sandstorms rage in the east towards Melona. But right now, they're just trying to live day by day.

While there is no main town any longer, the people do come together from time to time in the valley to share resources and spread news, and once a week, they sit together under the stars and hold Pokemon Contests on a stage that is nothing more than a large, wide slab of rock. The gym leader, Tsubomi, specializes in both fire and fighting type Pokemon and honors battles wherever she is challenged. Because of the lack of a gym building, she might need to be tracked down, though she is easier to find than Konoha, often making set rounds from group to group, checking up on the townspeople spread across the mountains. Central to all the campsites are natural hot springs, and both people and wild Pokemon come here to submerge themselves in the steaming waters and rejuvenate after a long, hard day. When the first of the rescue team arrives at the hot springs, two familiar faces are seen: a girl with pink hair and a boy with blue hair. Nanami opens her eyes blearily and pats Minato on the face. He looks up at the group and goes, "Hey. What's up?"

→ AW NUTS...

(click to expand - you really should have done something about that volcano)

A couple nights into the month, a shooting star is spotted streaming across the sky and disappearing into the waters to the southwest.

The ground shakes.

In the dead of night, the sky is lit up with a spew of fire that bursts out of the volcano hundreds of meters in the air, black smoke billowing up into the air in thick clouds, the mountains hacking up ash and molten rock. Screams can be heard throughout the mountain range as lava rushes down the slopes, people trying to grab what little they have left for a second time— though many already have nothing left but their lives. Wild Pokemon flee from the mountains in herds, heading for the desert to face the sandstorms rather than being consumed by flame.

The ground shakes. It cracks.

Desert becomes beach as the sand spills into the water, the cusp between mountain and desert becoming a chasm driven deep into the water as the Hami mountains break away and start sinking into the sea.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ For the sake of timelines, the Melona guides first head for Hami on December 3, the volcano erupts on December 5, and Hami subsequently becomes its own island on December 6. Destruction and evacuation can be played out however you want, but the boba shop remains standing in the end. The building is in impeccable condition. Not even the ash sticks to it.
⬥ Please make note of the new investigation form in the toplevel below, involving investigation style.
⬥ The second event log will go up on December 15.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sagi is both a little tired and a little singed after unexpectedly running into Hami's gym leader elsewhere in this valley, but he isn't interested in taking a dip right this minute. For one thing, he'd like to rinse some of the sand and ash off his clothes first. For another, his Pokemon are the ones who did the work in that "gym" battle, so they're the ones who could really use the chance to unwind. Conveniently enough, from a distance, this particular spring looks pretty unoccupied right now...

What does this mean for Itaru? It means an entire Swampert just cannonballed joyfully into the water right beside him as he was dozing off. Banzai!]

[ and this is how itaru dies on impact

...no, that's too soon. but itaru's more than awake now from the huge splash the swampert makes upon making contact with the water, hacking up water as he recollects himself. ]

Wh-- What's going on--

[Sagi looks up from the side of the spring where he was taking his jacket off, blanches, and runs around the edge to where he heard the coughing.]

I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!

[Geez, maybe he needs to nap in one of these after all, because he really didn't think anyone else was around. That isn't much of an excuse, he knows.

As he gets closer, he recognises the face - huh. He hasn't seen Itaru around in a while, but that didn't actually stand out to him. Imagine having enough close friends to learn about keeping up with them on a regular basis.]

No running wild, Blue! That's how she set us on fire, remember? You nearly jumped on Itaru!

[The Swampert immediately looks chastened at the scolding like a little kid, despite his size. He turns to the perishing Itaru and burbles in apology. He's sorry too.]

[ he blinks at this entire scene unfolding before him, rapidly waving his hand. ]

It's fine, don't worry about it. I see Swampert's in a good mood.

[ and that's what's important here, clearly. itaru doesn't mind at all and in fact is grateful that he was woken up before he all but passes out in the water - though maybe they shoulda tried another way to snap him out of it...

anyway. ]

Who set you guys on fire again?

[ sagi??????? ]

[Sagi settles down once it seems evident that there wasn't any lasting harm, managing a wry smile.]

The gym leader - Tsubomi? [Weird name.] If they can call her that without a gym. It wasn't much fire, at least...

[He's been lightly toasted by worse. It's fine.]

Oh yeah, her. I should challenge her later, come to think of it. I'm just biding my time till I can think of a strat to take her down.

[ like any competitive player should. oh well, his own marshtomp should be able to solo her entire lineup. ]

Anyway, it's been a while. How're you holding up?

Under the circumstances, pretty good. [Despite him getting set on fire not long ago.] She gave me her badge, so that's three. I guess she just carries them around, even with the town gone.

[He's not trying to brag, and these circumstances definitely suck, but winning things every once in a while is a nice feeling. That's the kind of thing Itaru is asking about, right?]

[ nah, it's fine. let sagi be proud of his achievements! it makes itaru real proud since he was the one who taught him the ropes a while back. ]

Yeah, it's a pretty interesting setup. No gimmicks or nothing. Then again, you can't exactly do puzzles in this landscape...

[ unless that involves jumping over cakes of lava or something. ]

[Sagi scratches the back of his head, still awkwardly standing at the edge of the spring.] Are there supposed to be gimmicks? They've all just been battle challenges so far.

[Which he's fine with, at this point. Puzzles... sound annoying.]

What would they even do? Hand you a jigsaw and refuse to fight until you're done?

I mean, think about it. Why did the first Gym Leader we encountered in Mango only used Steelix? Six of them, even.

[ it's totally a gimmick because the mods know no mercy u_u ]

Puzzles are pretty challenges in Pokemon, actually. It can be as simple as finding remotes to open a series of doors leading up to the Gym Leader, or as complicated as sliding across icy floors to destroy massive snowballs that get in your way. Also you have to fight various Trainers along the way, so it can be pretty annoying.

[ war flashbacks to candice's gym ]

[Sagi looks pensive as he tries to picture it. His sodden clothes on the ground at the other end of the spring lie forgotten.]

Yeah, none of them so far had anything of the kind. Even the front room in the Mango gym with all the birds was just an extra battle challenge.

[The only comparison coming to mind is, well, dungeons. Places where the normal paths or roads are out, or where you're not supposed to go anyway, so you have to make your own... If you're supposed to be able to get through eventually, why would anyone deliberately engineer barriers to entry like that? It makes as little intuitive sense as most other things around here.]

I'm glad they didn't. It would feel too much like breaking in.

[He'd do it regardless if he had to, but that doesn't mean he'd be happy about it.]

It's not really breaking in if the Leader themselves prepared it for challengers beforehand, right?

[ they're just exp fodder, man. don't worry about it. ]

Anyway, come on in. Water's getting cold.

[ not really, but. ]

[Sagi's Swampert looks down at the water in surprise. It doesn't feel like it's getting cold Oh no, he thought he was okay just chilling by the other end of the spring after accidentally surprising Itaru like that. Did he chill too much? Mortifying.

Sagi doesn't take the invitation quite as literally, but he does look nonplussed in his own way.]

Oh, uh... I wasn't trying to barge in, it's okay. [His Pokemon already did that for him.] I was just washing my clothes.

[Getting set on fire is one thing, but hiking up and down a mountainside smelling like that while he looks for more Hami refugees who might potentially need a hand? That sounded gross.]

You're going to do laundry in the hot springs...?

[ headtilt. on one hand it's a great idea and itaru's thinking of doing his own albeit begrudgingly, but... dude... ]

...I mean, I'll find somewhere else to do it.

[He was going to anyway, because Itaru being there makes it weird now. In a way that a large non-speaking mudfish monster being there doesn't, somehow.]

[ great, now he feels bad. ]

Nah, forget it. You're gonna make me wanna do mine too. Hang on.

[ just gonna get out of the springs to get back to his stuff, then comes back with a bag full of clothes. ]

Um... okay?

[It got weirder. Sagi stares for a second before it occurs to him that goggling at someone just for crawling out of the hot spring is probably rude.]

...I'll bring mine over.

[A laundry party might be less awkward than staring, since apparently this is happening anyway. He retrieves the backpack, jacket and bar soap he left at the other side of the spring, then walks back over with the former slung over one arm and the latter two cradled in the other. Can he even wear a backpack properly over his wings? The answer is a mystery to everyone without them.

Swampert is now alone in the hot spring. His look of good-natured confusion is somehow a dead ringer for his trainer's, but unlike Sagi, he manages to shrug it off and settle down in the water. He closes his beady orange eyes. Ahh, this is the life.]

[ okay, so far so good. is it even customary to do laundry in a hot springs, anyway? usually there's rivers and streams for this... but they can't really afford looking for one in a volcanic landscape, can they.

itaru unpacks some of his clothes, dousing a shirt into the water first before scrubbing it. ]

...You know, I'm starting to get used to this kinda thing.

Me too. At least, I keep thinking so before something surreal happens again.

[He says it somewhat absently, focused on getting the scorch marks off his jacket. Exactly what a teenage boy with bird wings considers surreal is anybody's guess.]

It's the eye of the storm kinda thing. Besides, washing your clothes during an epic journey should be the norm? >small>IDK why they don't always show that in JRPGS...

[ just keep scrubbing, just keep scrubbing... ]

[Sagi blinks, momentarily forgetting what he's doing. More fool him, expecting that sentence to end with "in adventure stories" or something else comprehensible.]

You don't wash them at home, too? I always feel bad if I don't at least help.

[Just the price you pay when you're a fugitive from the one country in the world that has actual washing machines.]

Er, I don't usually do these by hand. We have certain machines at home that lets you wash them in large batches, and dry them too. So I might be a bit of a noob with this.

[ so lame. but the old itaru would've left this to anyone who's willing to volunteer (gross), so the feeble attempt is already a heck of an achievement. ]

Oh yeah, those machines. I know those. My girlfriend misses them sometimes, too.

[He doesn't mean to sound exceptionally innocent saying it, but he can't help that at the best of times. His face lights up just thinking about her.]

[ RECORD SCRATCH

FREEZE FRAME ]

You have a girlfriend?

[ SINCE WHEN ]

Yeah, back home.

[Still casually, nbd. ...The reaction is kind of funny to him, but saying so would be mean.]

DECEMBER LOG PT1

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ OH THANK GOD

→ WELCOME TO THE NEW HAMA

→ AW NUTS...

→ MOD NOTES

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