SEPTEMBER INTRO LOG

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→ 09/01 The Arrival

「 Welcome to the world of POKEMON 」

"It will come to be. And in exchange..."
You wake up with a start. Thunder rolls across the sky, steamrolling the voices and the fog out of your head and replacing them with mottled grey on white— greyer in some spots than others, and if you're one of the unlucky ones, the greyest leaks cold water right down on your face. Drip... drip... drip... the intervals in between getting shorter and shorter until

SPLOOSH!!

The entire ceiling caves in and water and soggy drywall collapses onto your head, and those of several dozen others sharing this very open, very wet room. Rain pours down from overhead through the large hole in the middle of the ceiling, but the perimeter of the room is a little drier: about a dozen cots line the walls, not enough for the number of people here and so most must pick themselves off the ground. Other than a few curtained dividers now scattered across the flooding floor, the room is otherwise bare. White, grey, and very wet.

"Uh..." The only dry people in the room stand in the doorway: a girl who pulls her hood further over her head to keep the water off her face as she steps in to help the person nearest her up, and a boy who hangs back behind her, hesitant, staring at his feet a little guiltily until he looks up and catches somebody's eye, and he too steps forward to help people onto their feet. They introduce themselves as Chiaki Nanami and Minato Arisato, explain that they've arrived here a while ago in the exact same way as everybody here, and show off the purple and grey bands around their right and left ankles respectively, as if that is proof enough. Your unconscious bodies may or may not have been investigated while you were unconscious, but every person here will find some sort of band tattooed around a part of their body, some with a single pattern and some with two, some matching somebody else's and some unique to their own.

For those who want to hang back and ask questions, Nanami and Minato stick around and do their best to answer them, otherwise, you're free to go out in the rain and get soaked and wonder why this is your life.

→ 09/01 The Surroundings

"Ichi help me think of headings. I am so bad at writing headings" - Card

It's actually not that bad, all things considering. Sure, it's raining all day nonstop, but the rain varies between pouring and sprinkling and is weirdly lukewarm, like a shower that doesn't have enough water pressure and can't get hot enough. Strange creatures called Pokemon roam about the town of Toran, many hiding from the rain and liable to attack when people unexpectedly stumble upon them trying to find shelter themselves, especially the arm-hungry bears who just want to nap under trees, but others are friendly and eager to help people sweep water out of buildings and patch up roofs.

Whether you woke up with one or stumbled across them later, you have your own strange creature too. Be friends. If you don't know anything about Pokemon, there are plenty of elementary schoolers eager to laugh at your ignorance and teach you everything you need to know about catching and training Pokemon, little four-year-old escorts around Toran to show you where to find them in the lake at the center of the island, the surrounding ocean, the patches of grass throughout the town. The ground is perpetually marshy, thick mud and tall grass slowing foot traffic and the spiderwebs of pavement connecting the other structures around town are covered with half squashed, wiggling worms(egments) that are almost unavoidable to step on unless it's during a lighter drizzle when the bird Pokemon are free to swoop down to pick the roads clean. Want to get some experience in Pokemon battling? These literal children will gladly pulverize you to the point of blacking out and take your money or whatever fun little trinkets you have in your pockets.

The building everybody arrived in turns out to be a hospital, with an adjacent building being a hospital for Pokemon- a Pokemon Center- which offers free shelter for travellers but is currently overflowing with people who are stranded on this island, even with so many visitors forced to resort to long term lodging in the town's small inn. Both the hospital and Pokemon Center stand right along the lakeside, water overflowing and nearly lapping against the front steps, which is home to an abnormally large 30-foot long Gyarados. It thrashes about in the middle of the lake and has been scaring all the other wild water Pokemon to the outskirts of the lake, blasting the nearby buildings and berry trees with torrents of water, and lashing out at anybody who tries to approach. Several fishing boats that have gotten too close have been smashed, but a few are left tied to the docks around the lake for braver trainers to use.

Large canopies have been set up over the berry gardens dotting the rest of the lakeside to keep the rain (and the occasional Gyarados hydro pump) from washing off the berries. The trees are tended to by gardeners with their grass Pokemon, and at times Minato with his Yamask covering his face, one black arm wrapped around his neck and the other lazily waving an arm to part the cloud of several hundred Combee buzzing protectively around the boy, trying to keep unfamiliar people away from the beehives as Minato makes his rounds checking up on each of the hives and picking up the fruit that has fallen or has ripened enough on the branches, offering berries to any person or Pokemon who's hungry.

Most of the buildings around town are doing well enough, despite the unending gloomy weather and too many people. The Daycare Center is particularly packed with Pokemon whose trainers are stuck outside of the island and unable to pick them up, and volunteers to help feed and care for the Pokemon are needed more than ever, especially the younger Pokemon who are fussy and upset at being away from their trainers for so long. Even the older Pokemon are a bit worried, and some of the daycare workers whisper about rumors of a pack of wild Drifloon seen around town whenever the rain calms down to a drizzle and luring little kids into the thick fog and getting them lost. There are also whispers about the hospital, hushed words about how it's haunted by the spirits of the deceased and that when a group of Murkrows gather around a patient's window, it's to mark that person with misfortune and death. Several posters of missing children are hung up around the Daycare Center, with the promise of a reward for any information or return of the children, and flyers begging for help to calm the residents at the hospital of their worries about the Murkrows or ghostly sightings.

The Game Corner arcade never knows silence with the constant flashing and chiming of the slot machines and roulette wheels, but don't be fooled with the frequent payouts seen at the machines Nanami and her Mimikyu sit at, because the odds are actually pretty low and the tokens can only be traded in for berries, common items, and Pokemon accessories. There are no windows in the Game Corner, and it is very easy to lose track of time inside— one elderly gentleman in a tophat can be seen at the same slot machine in the corner at all hours of the day, never eating or sleeping or doing anything else but mechanically pulling the lever, unresponsive to the rest of the world around him. He's going to hit the jackpot, he knows it. Just one more pull. One more pull...

The newest building in Toran is the boba shop, freshly painted in bright yellows and blues just before the storm hit and the colors remain bold against the grey sky. The "Grand Opening" sign still hangs above the front door despite opening over a month before, inviting customers inside to try their specialty: milk tea with Combee honey boba balls. Boba is half off for first-time customers, and you also get your stamp card stamped with a lavender Bulbasaur face, unique to Toran's shop. There are eight stamps total to be collected- fill up your stamp card for a special prize! But strangely enough, scattered throughout the town, people of various different ages slump against walls and on the ground, barely responsive and with empty cups of boba around them. They're ignored by the townspeople and despite the unnerving sight of these semi-vegetative citizens, lines to the shop are just as long as ever.

The shop is also currently hiring, for those who would like to fill up their days while there's nowhere to go and make a little $$$. How about it? Join Team Boba today! (:

→ 09/02 The First Meeting

"Hahahahaha" - Ichi

After giving people some time to get settled, later in the evening of the second day, Nanami, Minato, and their Pokemon go around finding people with those mysterious bands marking them as isekai'd strangers to the island, and herd them towards the boba shop to Talk. About why they're all here, about that dream, about where to go from here...

As the group waits for the last of them to arrive, with a round of boba provided courtesy of Nanami and her small Game Corner fortune, chatter around the boba shop paints the same story: a storm has been raging for over a month now, with thunder and lightning, hurricane winds, and whirlpools making travel to and from the island too hazardous, trapping visitors on the island way past their expected length of stay. There are talks of strong Pokemon trainers having headed out into the storm to try and get help from other towns, most of them quickly forced to turn back, and others— whether they were lost at sea or managed to break through— never heard from since. Storms are never this bad here, the people say, they never last this long and they don't ever seem to be... sentient... getting a lot worse earlier yesterday when so many new people were found collapsed around the island and were brought to the hospital, intermittently throughout the past month whenever a trainer tries to leave the island, and the largest reaction from the storm over a month ago when a girl with pink hair and a boy with blue hair were found in the lake and dragged half-dead to the hospital.

The island has been isolated for well over a month now with nobody having any idea what's going on outside, but the arrival of so many people at once can't be a coincidence- it must signify the time for change. When something to this scale happens, people tend to look to the gods, the Legendary Pokemon, but if they're really the cause... it'll take effort from everybody in order to break through the storm to catch the attention of the Legendaries and reach the rest of the world.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ Welcome to Pokespe! All characters wake up at the hospital by the lakeside and can explore the rest of the island. Players are free to play out Pokemon battles or wild Pokemon encounters, but please let a mod know when catching a new Pokemon so we can approve or decline the capture.
⬥ On the second day, Nanami and Minato will be available to answer questions about what they've found out in the month before everybody else arrived. They will each have an NPC toplevel for those who wish to speak with them, and characters present at the meeting are free to learn about the information shared without needing to thread with an NPC.
⬥To proceed to the next area for next month's log, characters must find a way to travel across the stormy ocean filled with whirlpools and choppy waves. Make sure to mention your efforts on the permanent AC page at the end of the month!
⬥ There are several other oddities and problems around town that characters may choose to help with or investigate, which may or may not help with escaping the island or have ties to the plot as a whole. To investigate one of these areas, please comment to the questions toplevel with a link to your thread so the mods can direct you appropriately.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Atsushi has yet to see the barely-there wings, and he'll probably freak out when he does, despite having seen lots of weird shit.]

Yes, I... They must be really scared out there and alone in the woods. Do you know what a Drifloon is? That's what people are saying took them.

Huh. I think I heard the name, yeah. Too bad these critters don't come with their own field guide.

[In other words, he doesn't know what one of those looks like. Oops. But there must be some way he can still help...]

Did you find anyone who saw it happen? Or at worst, knows where it happened? That might be better than us just getting lost in the woods too.

Not yet. I haven't had much time and I'm not... I don't want to annoy people. You bring it up and they're very... cagey about it. They know it's happening, but they're not forthcoming, which is probably my fault because I'm not asking the right questions, maybe.

[Atsushi tries not to be too direct in questioning the townpeople, for fear it will come off as accusatory. Then he gets flustered and excuses himself and runs away.]

Maybe we should talk to the police first?

[Are there police? He hasn't gone looking, because he got a job at the boba shop and has precious little time with all the boba zombies coming back every five minutes for another fix.]

As in, the guards? [His wings shimmer a tiny bit as he tries to think back.] ...Does this place even have those? Everyone I've seen so far just looked like a civilian.

[A very normal way of phrasing that, in his mind.]

How about, instead - I do the asking, and you do the thinking? Two heads are better than one, right?

[His smile is earnest and hopeful, despite the rain.]

I haven't seen anyone of obvious authority either.

[He nods appreciatively at Sagi's offer.]

Yes! That would help! We could start with the parents if we can identify any of them.

All right! [And he's off, transparent feathers fluttering behind him. Kidnappings are complicated and happen for complicated reasons, but talking to people unsolicited? That's easy! There are already some promisingly worried-looking adults hanging out just over there.] Hey, excuse me -

[Eventually, they have a few leads on suspicious locations. Some of the people who didn't immediately brush them off mentioned the game corner, others the dilapidated hospital... and this latest supposed witness, a fisherwoman with alcohol on her breath, suggests that the kids vanished off the beach. Sagi's aggressively friendly demeanour falters for the first time today when he hears that. After thanking her for her time and watching her walk away, he outright pouts.]

Yikes. Hope that one's a red herring. How are you holding up, by the way?

[...It may have just dawned on him that he decided to drag this guy around town without asking his name.]

Oh, I'm fine!

[It comes out as a squeak, because he's been standing back and taking notes and trying to avoid the more animated citizenry, and a direct question suddenly throws him off. They've at least gotten three places to start, and looking at the list, Atsushi particularly wants to avoid the hospital because of the haunted rumours.]

I think we should start at the game corner. It's the smallest place and there can't be too many employees to interview; and it's more of a kids place, right?

[The last information from the fisherwoman made it pretty clear the beach is highly suspicious, but it's all open and anything could happen out there.]

Hey, relax. [What the woman said still bothers him a little, but he tries to look encouraging again. They're just investigating potentially organised child abductions with no training, resources or backup beyond the weird monsters they just met! No need to be jumpy.] Anyway, I think you're right. I remember seeing a bunch of kids near there earlier. We might even have time to check out the hospital after that - it's not too far away.

[If Atsushi has a problem with that, he hasn't picked up on it yet!]

[Atsushi is a detective, but unfortunately his training has mostly consisted of being used as bait, getting kidnapped, or just being there to fight because he's hard to kill. Talking to people is a much harder task, though, and his role models for this sort of thing have their own odd methods he does not intend to replicate.]

Yeah, the hospital. That sounded important too. But um, ghosts... they're not- you don't believe in ghosts, right?

[He knows there are many things actually more frightening than the idea of ghosts, and they're probably not real, but what if?]

Ghosts?

[A memory of being called "ghost boy" briefly flashes through Sagi's head, but he knows there's no way some wingless stranger would be thinking about that. The less verifiable kind of ghost, presumably. Haha, it's kind of a relief to meet someone even he can identify as gullible... about this one specific thing, at least.]

Aren't they supposed to be just another kind of monster around here? [If Atsushi lets him, he'll pat him gently on the shoulder.] It'll be fine. Besides, for all we know, someone might be counting on how run-down the building is to keep people from looking.

[Atsushi stiffens at the hand on his shoulder, but doesn't say anything. It doesn't hurt, so it's fine. He focuses on the words Sagi speaks instead.]

I didn't think about that, but there are... ghost types of these things. It could be they just meant ghost uh, Pokemon.

[He nods, and gathers a little more confidence that the ghost problem may be simply other creatures natural to this world and not malicious spirits.]

I wouldn't go wandering into a run-down building, so it could be used as a deterrent, yes.

[Oh, he froze up a little bit. Maybe he just doesn't like getting patted? Sagi's best friend at home never liked it much, either. Well, whatever! Time to act as positive as someone who has never been possessed by a ghost, and slip back into the role of bothering total strangers! Much easier than dwelling on whether he was accidentally insensitive or not.]

OK, it's decided! Game corner, here comes...?

[Right, the introductions thing. Let's awkwardly get that over with too.]

Oh, wait. Sorry, I forgot to introduce us earlier. I'm Sagi, and this is...

[Oops, he was about to name someone who isn't here. Force of habit. Fortunately, he has an out.]

...uh, this is Pawniard in the ball. They're resting right now. What I mean is, thanks for doing all the organising and whatnot. I guess I pushed it on you.

[He gets a bit flustered, realizing they'd never introduces themselves. What horrible manners.]

It's nice to meet you, Sagi and uh, Pawniard.

[He hopes he got the latter right, it's an odd-sounding name.]

I'm Atsushi, and um... this is Lucy.

[The Senret pokes one long ear out from Atsushi's shirt, but otherwise does not show herself.]

Oh, it's no trouble at all! I like to organize things and I want to help.

[The Game Corner isn't far, and there's a few kids hanging around by the entrance to question. Information isn't particularly relevant, but there's mention of the Driftloon again. When they speak of the old man, Atsushi is curious, specifically about the comparison to being possessed.]

Are the ghosts possessing people!?

[And they're just going to go right to the hospital where there are more ghosts?]

Ghosts again, huh. Everyone sounds so sure they know how it goes, but they haven't found the missing kids.

[Sagi can't help staring over the vacant slot-playing gentleman in the corner in between rounds of questioning. He's starting to wish that this whole ghost business didn't keep cropping up too; it feels grating somehow. He doesn't exactly like playing the sceptic...]

...You know, there's two of us and one of him.

[An idea is forming in his head. His head is usually the only place where his ideas sound practical.]

[There's two of us and one of him. That phrasing only gets Atsushi imagining one scenario, and he looks appalled at the thought.]

We can't just attack some poor old man!

[They don't know for certain he's possessed. He did technically con children out of their money, but... it's overkill.]

[Wow, strong reaction! He thought this one was pretty inoffensive.]

I didn't say attack him! Just, carry him somewhere else. Gently. [Ugh, how does he put his gut feeling into words?] If he snaps out of it, that's good for him too, considering how they described it. And if he doesn't, the way he reacts might be a clue.

[See, no attacking involved. A completely humane and elderly-friendly manhandling.]

[Well, now he feels stupid. Of course Sagi hadn't meant killing the guy; he's shown no signs of being that sort of person. Atsushi's disgusted with himself for that assumption.]

I'm sorry! I misinterpreted!

[At least the old man hasn't noticed them yet, even with the increase in volume.]

Your plan is- yes. Let's do that.

[All right, it's old man harassing time. Perhaps unfortunately, it doesn't even occur to Sagi that avoiding too much of the man's attention might give them an advantage. He simply walks over there, straight down the aisle, and taps the man on the shoulder.]

Sir? Excuse me, sir? The managers are saying they really need you to leave, just for an hour. Maintenance work.

[It doesn't work. The man audibly grumbles something under his breath, but otherwise pretends to ignore them. Is it because he lied? It seemed like the less confrontational option. Frowning slightly, Sagi tries again.]

Uh, did you hear what I -

[And that's the exact moment he gets a top hat to his elbow for his trouble. If he hadn't reflexively raised his arms, it would have been his face.]

[At least Sagi's being relatively polite about this, and Atsushi can get in on that. It's better than just trying to drag the poor old man away. He steps up to the man, avoiding that top hat, and bows respectfully.]

I apologize for the inconvenience, sir, but the maintenance work is essential and needs to be done immediately. There's a fire-

[But he's drowned out by the old man yelling about his rights to be in this establishment and he's already got tokens in the machine. They have no name tags and he doesn't believe they're with the manager's office. He's going to call the gaming commission to complain that they've interrupted him. He was in the zone!]

Sir! We -

[Sagi can't even get a word in edgeways before the old man wallops him a second time with the top hat, this time on the shoulder. He catches it by the brim and tries to pull it away, but the man only tugs back, increasingly incoherent in his fury. Petty thieves coming in here to impersonate the staff, what is this world coming to, completely ruined the cash-out he'd carefully lined up just now, did he mention he has rights -]

Atsushi, he's not listening!

[...He concedes, it might have been a good idea to discuss the backup plans ahead of time.]

Maybe he is possessed!

[The man keeps ranting, and beating on them with the top hat. He's clearly in some sort of distress to be acting this way, and that's how Atushsi convinces himself it's okay to... gently... force the man to leave. Ducking another top hat swipe, Atushsi pries the man's fingers off the machine lever.]

Sir, please- you're disturbing the other patrons...

[It's technically true, because they are definitely causing a scene here.]

He's disturbed all right! [Sagi grits his teeth and sizes up the man, picturing a couple different ways of bodily picking him up off the ground. The quicker and more coordinated they go about it, the less chance of accidents.] You take his arms, I can -

[Oh. He falters and looks away, getting a sinking feeling. Eye contact. Making eye contact is a statement that you want to fight. That's a rule here.

The old man doesn't hesitate. He wrests his hand away from Atsushi and the slot machine lever at long last, but only to grimly ram his hat back on his head, then all but slam a pair of Pokeballs onto the floor in front of him. A duo of little spiky hamster-like creatures pop out, one purple and one blue. Enough is enough! You've made poor decisions today, young scoundrels! Both of you, make a better one right now, or be forced to leave!

The other game corner patrons nearby look on worriedly, but several of them seem relieved it worked out this way, instead of anything more visceral. This is so stupid. And yet, when the available choices are reduced to just yes or no, Sagi can't help feeling a little pulse of a similar kind of relief. He lowers his voice.]

It's not ideal, but we got him to stop playing it. At this rate, he might even listen if we beat him.

[If there's a downside to just throwing down, he can't detect one.]

[Oh no. This is why eye contact is always a bad idea. Atsushi eyes the little hamster-rats with apprehension. They look very angry already. He nods to Sagi, because this is probably the best way in the end. People here are very honourable about their battles and the old man would have to give them something, preferably information once they make him leave the Game Corner.]

Right. We can do this, they're just... hamsters.

[Lucy is having none of this though, and scampers out of Atsushi shirt to run off and hide under a nearby console.]

Whuh - hey! [Shoot. He'd been hoping that bunny thing was the "timid with a heart of gold" type, not a straight-up coward!] We need her too, or else it's two on one!

[Where the heck did she go?? Under this machine, he thinks? He throws himself right on the floor, trying to peek under it, his wings sticking out at awkward angles. Ugh, someone should really mop this place down.]

Uh. Here, kitty...

[This is not his field of expertise.]

[She's a total coward. Lucy quivers, just out of reach. She's covered in dust and sticky substances from the floor. They really do need a new maintenance person. Meanwhile, the old man is laughing and threatening to claim victory if they're forfeiting.]

W-we're not forfeiting!

[Atsushi takes a pokeball out of his pocket.]

Sagi! I have another one!

[He absolutely doesn't want to let this guy out, but he also can't make Lucy fight. He'd caught a Spearow in the Pokemon Center; a mean angry bird who had been terrorizing Lucy. He may turn on them instead of the old man; it's a gamble.]

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ 09/01 The Arrival

→ 09/01 The Surroundings

→ 09/02 The First Meeting

→ MOD NOTES

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