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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

[ Hien doesn't even have to lift his towel to see how much Yoichi likes victory with how he says it alone. People driven with motivation who are trying to meet goals are great to see, because they're at least doing something. That's more than he can say about a lot of people. ]

I see.

[ He still has the towel over his face. ]

Battling isn't so boring, is it? It didn't seem like you enjoyed it before.

[ He remembers somewhat battling Yoichi when he was a kid because he dug his own memories up when he was sorting through them... and when he kicked his coal pokemon. ]

I'm guessing your foot is okay by now.

[ Since he's here. ]

It's different with the gym leaders.

[Most people he's battled aren't really into it, and their lack of enthusiasm clouds everything. That, and continual losses.]

It will be.

[He's absolutely still hanging out at the hot springs and venturing through the mountains with broken toes. Its fine.]

But back to the gym leaders. They're more experienced than us, and I beat them, but not most of the rest of you. Why? Has anyone lost to a gym leader?

[Can they? Is it some kind of mechanic where they will always win? A quirk of this place, like the boba shops being indestructible and all the police looking the same?]

You can think of gym leaders like checkpoints. They should be challenging, but not to the point that they're an insurmountable wall for you. There's also a key difference between gym leaders and the average trainer: gym leaders tend to specialize on one or two types, so it's easier to take advantage of that. When the leader sends out their next pokemon, you know what typing it will be, so you have the upper hand before you even see their next pokemon. However, for the average trainer, you don't know what they'll send out next.

[ Hien readjusts the towel over his head and face. ]

If you're curious to see if they'll throw a battle regardless of who you'll bring, you can bring a weak pokemon with you to the next one. Like... that.

[ He points to a stray wild Magby that's peeking from the entrance. Hien still has peripheral vision and it's not that he can see through the towel... it's fine... ]

Yeah.

[Hien clearly isn't suspicious of these things, with his comments on both the gym leaders and earlier on the boba shop's resilience. Yoichi wonders if he gets some sort of personal satisfaction from presenting himself as a sage with seemingly practical, yet somewhat derailing comments. It's likely.]

Maybe I'll try that sometime.

[For now, he'll just refrain from stating any other musings out loud, while watching Hana-chan until she's had her fun.]

[ You asked, Yoichi! Hien doesn't seem to think much about it. Maybe he really is a npc who doesn't seem to notice the strange things. He slightly tilts his head. ]

You want to try battling against me?

[His more important question was whether or not anyone had lost against the gym leaders, but that didn't get answered. Hien's battle offer annoys him, thinking it already implies his inevitable loss.]

Try? You think I can't beat you? I will.

[He probably can't, which he will admit to himself, but with that way of phrasing it, Yoichi can't say no. Hana-chan bobbles her head sadly. There goes her hot springs adventure. She pushes the container of berries away to float out into the far reaches of the hot springs, then clambers out of the water and spins to dry off.]

[ How would he know that??? Yoichi, please... Mimi looks over at Hana-chan getting out of the hot spring and then looks over at Hien, who also tilts his head a little. He didn't mean now, but you know what... fine.

There are small gear turning noises that are coming from somewhere, but it sounds distant. Hien clambers out of the spring, and once he pulls the towel off his head, he looks like an entirely different person literally in the blink of an eye... sort of. His hair is mixed of orange, brown, and black with the black hair growing out into faded orange dye and he's actually wearing casual clothes consisting of a gray t-shirt and long black pants. His clothes are not wet. His face is a little different from Hien's, but it's not like Yoichi would know anyway. Hana-chan probably would, since she's actually seen Hien's face on Toki before. His black eyes are pretty normal and he clears his throat. ]

Maybe some steps away from the spring, so that we don't bother anyone else.

[ And no voice distortion. ]

[Hana-chan bobbles her head. In alarm? In indifference to Hien's 'new' face? No one knows. She and Yoichi move away from the springs. He thinks nothing of the different voice, assuming it came with the mask somehow. Things are weird here anyway.]

All Pokemon or one-on-one?

Edited 2020-12-10 14:20 (UTC)

[ Hien seems quiet as if pondering something. It doesn't last too long though, as his eyes refocus soon enough. ]

Send out your strongest. I want to see how good you are in battling.

[ Instead of dropping a pokeball to the ground like he usually does, he throws it into the air, releasing a Lampent. It floats around, looking at Hien for a second. It looks like he doesn't recognize Hien for a moment, but it floats around without saying anything else after acknowledging that this is his trainer.

Meanwhile, Mimi comes out of the spring and looks somewhat worried. Hm. He doesn't like this. His trainer seems different than usual, kinda like how he was battle hungry that one day in Melona. Mimi tries to convey to Hana-chan that she should get her trainer and probably avoid this battle... He's worried. ]

[He waves at Hana-chan. None of the others have reached her level, though they may or may not be better against a Lampent.]

She's my strongest.

[Hana-chan bobbles her head at Mimi, spiral eyes darting back and forth. Then she looks at Hien, who is different, both in appearance and in the atmosphere around him now. Something is amiss. If it were Toki, Hana-chan would make sure he left, and he would easily agree. Yoichi is a problem. What can she do to get him to leave? If she pretends to be sick from the berries, Yoichi will just let her suffer while he fights with another Pokemon until the battle is over.

She makes worried Spinda noises and does a little dance of anxiety. Hana-chan has precious few seconds to make a decision and she doesn't know what to do. She huffs, bobbling her head and spinning. She stops all movement suddenly, and then with a little Spinda war cry, she tackles Yoichi and punches him in the face once he's down. Sucker Punch is a good move to have, and her trainer can't battle if he's unconscious. Problem solved.

Hana-chan looks to Mimi for approval. She did good, yes?]

[ Mimi and Hien stare at Hana-chan with wide eyes, but for entirely different reasons. Mimi approves! Hien... well, finds it a pity. Lampent just floats off to the side with the same expression, clapping its arm things together as if he just enjoyed a good show. ]

Huh. You don't want to battle that much, Hana-chan?

[ Hien looks over at the Spinda. Looks like he isn't aware of Mimi's suggestion to her. ]

[Hana-chan looks warily at Hien, but it's hard to tell with the spiral eyes. She goes for Plan B, which was originally Plan A. She hunches over, holding her stomach and making 'erugh' sounds. Berries bad! She can't battle today!]

[ The Melancholy of Yoichi Isagi... always getting beaten up one way or another. Maybe all this is to test his resilience? (No)

Hien smiles at Hana-chan. Cute... He digs into the cloak and gets out a Full Heal, a spray that can heal all status conditions. Not sure if it'll help with stomachaches, but he puts it next to Hana-chan's feet. Maybe he knows already that Hana-chan is faking it. Maybe not.

Mimi goes up to Hana-chan and gently nuzzles her side even though she looks like she's suffering... he's sorry about his trainer. He's been harder to handle lately. ]

It would probably be in his best interest if he chooses fights that he can win for now...

[ Because he wonders if Yoichi's body is not the only thing that's being bruised constantly. Anyway, Hien turns around to leave and Mimi shoots an apologetic look to Hana-chan again before going to follow Hien. ]

[Hana-chan is still confused about Hien's behaviour; though she usually is, what with the kidnapping and then the rescuing. She gives Mimi reassuring pats and bobbles her head. As they leave, Hana-chan contemplates the Full Heal. She will keep it for now, shoving it into her backpack; it's hers now, she's laid claim to it.

What is she going to do with her trainer? She needs sustenance to think! With a splash, she's back in the hot springs, swimming out in a swirly pattern to get that abandoned container of berries. Mmm! She starts eating them on her way back, getting some juice in the hot springs. Hana-chan sits at the edge of the water, drying off again and eating the rest of the berries. When she's done, she rummages through her backpack for the rope that Yoichi wasn't smart enough to discard yet. She will drag him to the boba shop, because there are no hospitals. He'll be fine.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

DECEMBER LOG PT1

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ OH THANK GOD

→ WELCOME TO THE NEW HAMA

→ AW NUTS...

→ MOD NOTES

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