⇨ ALOLA

[ringleaders]

Who: EVERYONE.
When: Day 73 - Day 87
Where: The islands of Alola.
What: The Carnival arrives at its next touring location, a series of tropical islands inhabited by a species of animal called Pokemon and their trainers!
Warnings: Pokemon is pretty PG-rated.

IT'S A POKEMON WORLD↴ Alola is broken up into four different islands, with a number of unique points of interest. Boats can easily be rented in order to get between the islands, or you can just pay for the fair of a scheduled trip. If you can prove you have the skills for it, you can also call on a "Ride Pokemon" - that is, either a Charizard or a Lapras that will fly or swim you between locations. ► POPULATION: Though the islands appear very small as an abstraction in the actual games, that doesn't hold over into the actual reality of it. When interacting with the different locations, imagine that they are about as big and spread out as they would be in real life. It's about on the same scale as Hawaii is on earth. Ignore any wikis that say the population of each island is like 200 people, because that's just adding up all the scripted NPCs, and there are realistically more than six houses per town. ► AMENITIES: Even if they aren't overtly listed on island maps, it can be assumed that all towns and cities will have basic amenities - that is, places to eat, place to go to the washroom, places to buy souvenirs, and the other things one would expect in a tourist heavy area. You can also buy malasadas pretty much anywhere. ► POKECENTERS: You'll be able to find a Pokecenter in pretty much every town - a Pokecenter is a public building in which Pokemon Trainers can rest and get their Pokemon healed. Think of it like free international Pokemon healthcare. You can also buy Pokeballs here, as well as potions and other healing items for later use. ► AETHER FOUNDATION: A peace keeping organization that shelters Pokemon from harm and abuse. If you kill/maim any Pokemon or otherwise act violently in public, they will come to try to take you down with their Pokemon. They also are the main force working against Team Skull. MELEMELE ISLAND↴ [MELEMELE DETAIL MAP] [GUARDIAN DEITY TAPU KOKO] [WIKI LINK] ► TRAINER SCHOOL: A full fledged for young, aspiring Pokemon Trainers! Students go here to learn about Pokemon care and battling before setting out on their own journeys. It would be sort of weird for an adult to show up here, like it would for an adult to try to attend an elementary school, but you can probably learn some of the basics just from touring the facility. ► HAU'OLI SHOPPING DISTRICT: The biggest shopping district on Melemele, you can do a lot here, from eating out to getting your hair dyed. A lot of shops are, unsurprisingly, completely Pokemon focused - but there are some that aren't, too. There are also some very nice beach fronts nearby. ► BERRY FIELDS: Berries come in a lot of different types and have different effects when used. Mostly, Pokemon love to eat them, regardless of what type they are. This is a big field of them, most of which are free to take if you catch them when ripe. ► TEN CARAT HILL: The secluded interior of a small mountain, filled with some rare types of rock Pokemon. You have to be able to bypass the left overs of some recent rockslides to get in. ► TRIAL SITE: There is only one trial on this islands, which is the Normal type trial. All you have to do is fight a bunch of Pokemon ferrets, and then fight an even bigger Pokemon ferret that thirsts for your blood. It's not so bad. AKALA ISLAND↴ [AKALA DETAIL MAP] [GUARDIAN DEITY TAPU LELE] [WIKI LINK] ► TIDE SONG HOTEL: A big ass hotel near the port - if you want to stay on Alola overnight, this is a pretty good place to go. It isn't too expensive, and is also rather nice. ► DIMENSIONAL RESEARCH LAB: Alola, on occasion, has been the site of various dimensional breaks (haha) in which extraplanar creatures called Ultra Beasts have crossed over. There isn't much information about these beasts, but they are something that are being actively studied. Characters who are nerds might find some of this information interesting. ► HANO GRAND RESORT: The inevitably big, fancy resort that tends to take route in touristy places like this. If you actually pay to spend some time there, you can enjoy all the things you'd expect to find in a fancy resort, except with way more Pokemon. There is also a fancy, secluded beach for resort goers only. ► BATTLE ROYALE DOME: A battle area in which 4 trainers fight each other all at once, with teams of there Pokemon. The trainers here are mostly quite expert, and you need a team of three Pokemon to play, so player characters probably won't be able to participate. However, you can still come to watch, if you like seeing a bunch of colourful monsters slapping each other around. ► PANIOLA RANCH: A large ranch that keeps a lot of Pokemon that resemble earth farm animals. You can leave Pokemon here to stay for a while if you need a break from the strains of trainer life. Quite often, however, your Pokemon will end up getting knocked up and leave you with another egg to care for. ► TRIAL SITES: Brooklet Hill is a lake filled area that contains the Water Trial. You have to fight a bunch of schooling Wishiwashi, and then an even bigger schooling Wishiwashi to win. Wela Volcano Park contains the Fire Trial, where you must climb to the top of the dormant volcano, and spot the difference between a series of ceremonial island dances. Then you gotta fight a team of Marrowaks and a giant Salazzle. The Lush Jungle contains the Grass challenge, in which you have to find a series of rare organic ingredients in order to brew something that will lure out a giant Lurantis. ULA'ULA ISLAND↴ [ULA'ULA DETAIL MAP] [GUARDIAN DEITY TAPU BULU] [WIKI LINK] ► MALIE GARDEN: A nice big garden to hang out in and chill. Also, there are Pokemon there... and also, Pokemon battles? There's really no end to it. ► MOUNT HOKULANI OBSERVATORY: Up at the top of the local mountain, you can go see a space observatory. Like most things in Alola, it's like a regular observatory, except with more Pokemon, since some Pokemon just straight up come from space. You can take a bus up here, but you can also hike if you want. ► HAINA DESERT: A shitty desert in the middle of the island. Mostly only good for if you want the kinds of Pokemon that live in shitty deserts. ► ABANDONED THRIFTY MEGAMART: A Megamart, but haunted. Extremely haunted, filled with the kind of ghost Pokemon that would actually kill you. You have to take a bunch of pictures of ghosts on your way through here if you want to beat the Ghost Trial. ► PO TOWN: The ramshackle remains of the town that Team Skull have taken over. It's completely walled off from the rest of the world, and is pretty terrible. No point in going in there unless you're fighting crime, in which case you can expect to get challenged to Pokemon battles by a lot of Team Skull knuckleheads. ► LAKE OF THE MOON: A huge, round temple thing in the middle of nowhere. It's used to praise a legendary Pokemon that existed years ago, but there presently doesn't seem to be anything around except cool architecture. ► TRIAL SITES: The Observatory contains the Electric Challenge, during which you have to fend off various kinds of electric grubs, before eventually taking on a giant Vikavolt. The Abandoned Megamart must first be cleared before challenging the Ghost Trial officially, at which point you will have to defeat a powerful Mimikyu. PONI ISLAND↴ [PONI DETAIL MAP] [GUARDIAN DEITY TAPU FINI] [WIKI LINK] ► SEAFOLK VILLAGE: A village made of nothing but houseboats and other water fairing homes. It's the only major town on Poni Island. ► ANCIENT RUINS: Most of Poni Island has been reduced to ruins, over time. Not many people live here, relative to the other islands, but there are a lot of abandoned buildings from when they apparently used to. ► VAST PONI CANYONS: Most of the island is comprised of canyons, caves, and valleys filled with particularly strong Pokemon, and also a lot of fight-hungry Pokemon trainers. Most of them will want to fight you as soon as they see you, since they are there mostly to train, but they will back down if you tell them you're not a trainer. Though, at that point they will strongly urge you to go home, because it's too danger for anything other than the strongest trainers. ► ALTAR OF THE SUN: A matching altar to the one found on Ula'ula, except this time dedicated to a legendary Pokemon of the sun. If you play some magic flutes here at the right time then apparently a giant lion might show up, but there's no way to be sure. ► TRIAL SITES: The only Trial here is the Grand Trial, which is a fight against the leader's ground type Pokemon. You may also get lucky and have the Fairy Trial's kahuna deign to fight you, with her fairy types, if she randomly wanders into your path. Both of them are very strong, and are not advised to challenge for new trainers.

Comments

casual theft!

[walkonedge]

[ It's the first time that he's been to a beach in a while - the last time was back in the middle of winter when he'd wanted to be alone with Gabumon, so wandering onto Hau'oli City's beachfront in the middle of summer and having it chock-full of tourists is enough to distract him enough to almost miss the feeling of something swiping at the pockets of his jeans.

It's only when he puts his hands into his pocket that he realises that his harmonica is missing. A quick glance around after that reveals the culprit, a tiny cat who's currently running quickly enough away with the harmonica between its teeth that Yamato almost loses it while he's chasing the cat through the throng of tourists. ]

Hey. Hey! Give my harmonica back, you thieving--

[ It's only after he elbows a couple more tourists out of the way that he manages to find his destination, the Litten dropping its stolen prize in front of an uninterested Rita, who Yamato recognises from that girl in the mirror maze.

Well, that's a coincidence if he ever knew one.

Still, she's distracted enough by her book that Yamato figures it's safe enough to just lean down and swipe his harmonica back from the sand. He's frowning because now there's sand inside it and cleaning it is going to be troublesome.

He's clearly not expecting the Litten to hiss at him and spew out small fireballs. ]

What the hell?! [ He yelps, back-pedalling a bit and narrowly escaping the closest fireball.

Another glance at Rita, with another frown. ]

Oi, this cat is yours?

[anti_nonsense]

Hm? Sort of. He-- [Belatedly, Rita finally looks up from her book. Upon realizing that some sort of altercation just happened, she shoots upright in her seat, casting her book aside for the moment. Seeing her agitated Litten, she goes ahead and jumps to conclusions.]

Hey, what do you think you're doing? You're upsetting him!

[She's talking to Yamato, who she assumes is just bullying the Litten for whatever reason.]

[walkonedge]

[ He makes an indignant noise, mostly because he's still reeling from the fact that the cat can spit fireballs, even though it's clearly not a Digimon.

What even is happening here. ] Oi, it stole my harmonica first, why the hell would I upset it for no reason?

[ Another glare, this time directed more at the Litten, who's probably kind of still agitated and hissing at him when he reaches over to attempt another retrieval of said stolen harmonica. Even the Yagami's cat, Meeko, which is the only actual cat he's had the experience of meeting, doesn't have that much of an attitude. He holds it up once he's shaken the sand out of it, and it should constitute as indisputable evidence of her Litten's thievery. ]

[anti_nonsense]

Wh... why would it do that?

[She doubts him at first, but Rita can see the Litten getting upset at him retrieving the harmonica in question, and it gives her pause. It mewls and cries at Yamato now that the prize is out of reach, and seems to be getting ready to lunge at him again. Rita interrupts it by picking the Litten up and placing it in her lap, where it abruptly changes its tune and starts purring and rubbing against her hands.]

Oh, I get it... You just wanted to give me a present. [Her voice takes on a rare affectionate tone as she talks to the cat, petting it lightly, but then she glances back up at Yamato.] Wait... what are you doing here? [There's only one possibility, but...] You're working with the carnival now?

[walkonedge]

[ While the Litten is distracted with the way Rita has picked it up, Yamato takes the chance to keep the harmonica back in his pocket, making sure to at the very least shove it deep enough into his pocket that it probably will at least take a bit more effort for the harmonica to fall into another thief's hands. ]

... Ah, yeah. Just started. [ He's still displeased, but the sudden change in conversation at least surprises him enough that he doesn't sound as confrontational as he was just a moment ago. ] I'm guessing you are too. [ It's not a terribly difficult inference or guess to make. ]

[anti_nonsense]

[Rita nods.] They've got me doing lighting and special effects - technical stuff like that. It's not my first choice as far as jobs go, but it could be worse.

[The Litten, seemingly picking up on Rita's more relaxed demeanor, starts to curl up in her lap. It stares at Yamato warily, but seems to have given up on pursuing his harmonica.]

Why'd you sign up? [At the very least, she's sure it's not for the same reason she did.]

[walkonedge]

[ Huh. That's not something that he's expecting, since he hasn't tagged her as a "technical stuff" kind of person. With how she went on about magic in their previous encounter, at least.

... Anyway. ]

Didn't really have much of a choice. [ At least he got off with a kind-of-easy job. Helping the performers with costumes and props sounds easier that fiddling with technical stuff that isn't his guitar's amplifier.

A beat. ]

Wait, you mean you signed up voluntarily?

[anti_nonsense]

[Didn't have a choice...? He must have gotten himself into debt. Even in Rita's short time here, she's heard a few people mention similar things happening to them.]

Yeah. [She answers curtly, but after a beat, she offers an explanation.] All this circus crap isn't exactly my kind of scene, but I should be able to make significant advancements to my research here. Hopefully, I'll learn enough to make it worth my time.

[walkonedge]

[ He honestly had assumed. With how... prickly she had been, it seemed only natural that he had assumed that the reason why she was here at all was because she's offended the wrong person.

... Not that he's going to say that out loud, of course.

And with all this talk about research, Yamato didn't have her pegged as a Koushiro type, so this was interesting. ] You're researching something? At a carnival? [ He sounds skeptical. She did mention that the carnival isn't exactly her kind of scene, so honestly, he may or may not be a liiitle bit more than confused. ] Researching what, exactly?

[anti_nonsense]

[Rita doesn't blame him for being skeptical. If someone told her she'd be working with a carnival just a week ago, she wouldn't have believed them. It's not like carnivals are known for their academic value, either.]

Magic. I specialize in magic and magic technology. [She remembers how he didn't seem to believe magic was even real, but surely by now he knows otherwise.]

[walkonedge]

[ Oh yeah, she mentioned magic. Now that he's a part of the Carnival, magic is definitely a little bit easier to accept, even if he himself comes from a world where magic doesn't exist.

Magic technology, on the other hand... sounds interesting and sounds like a thing that Koushiro would have definitely been interested in. So okay, maybe her being a researcher makes more sense now. He shrugs. ]

Cool. Magic's a part of your world, then?

[anti_nonsense]

That's right. It's pretty much integral to human society. Before now, I could hardly imagine a world without it.

But... that's what your world is, isn't it? [It's still hard to imagine, even knowing now that it's not so implausible.]

[walkonedge]

[ Another shrug. ] We have technology, and I've seen the things that some of my friends can do with it, it's pretty amazing.

One of my friends created another pocket dimension in an Internet server, once. [ Just. Don't ask him how to do it, he has no idea how Koushiro did it. ]

[anti_nonsense]

[Her brow furrows a bit at that. 'Technology' seems to mean something different to him than it does for her. In Terca Lumireis, magic is how technology works.]

A pocket dimension...? [That does sound pretty amazing, and to Rita's knowledge, it would only be possible with magic, but...] What's an 'Internet server'?

[walkonedge]

It's... [ A frown, because he's never thought that he'd come across a person who doesn't know what the Internet is, and he... doesn't really know what it is or how to explain it to her either.

Also, why is this conversation taking place on a beach, this is not the most conducive environment when it comes to having this kind of intellectual conversation. ] It's like a virtual space you can store information. Anyone can access it if they have a computer and an Internet connection.

[ There, the most layman explanation about the Internet, although it's... probably going to cause more questions than answers. ]

[anti_nonsense]

Computers? You mean those devices that run on electricity... [She's making a very serious effort to understand what he's talking about. Fortunately, she's seen the computers at the Poke Center, which gives her something to visualize, at least.]

So they can be used to retrieve data from this 'server' through some sort of connection...? [The word 'internet' is still sort of lost on her.] What kind of information is it used for?