⇨ 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

[whattaprick]

[ Mari being dead is sort of a technical issue. After all, without a body (and sometimes not even that is proof enough -- as Strange will, one day, discover) it's hard to conclusively say that someone is, in fact, deceased. More to the point, the sort of person Mari is doesn't seem like the type to let silly piddling things like death get in her way, now does she? Part of Lambert swears he can still hear her mad cackle on the air, even if witchers aren't prone to flights of fancy.

Still, hearing Strange joke about it like that releases some of the tension from Lambert's shoulders, enough to make him laugh and rock back on his heels. ]

I can look after mysel, Strange. [ He shrugs. ] Strategy would mean people actually have to listen to me in the first place. I'm not holding my breath on that.

[ He totally took the position for the trailer benefits. Sorry, Papyrus, his own place is too good to pass up, whether or not he actually uses it. ]

[kingsroads]

The members of the Carnival here are a hopeless cause, [ Strange has to admit, with a little shrug. Yeah, nobody here's gonna listen to you Lambert, it's just a fact of life. ] But we constantly get new members. I'm certain you can at least fake competency in their eyes until you learn some actual strategy. Someone in the future's had to have written a book about Wellington and the peninsular campaign, you can read that to learn something.

[ The problem here is that Strange is nattering on about an English form of combat, once again forgetting about the fact that they're not in England. Besides, Wellington commanded armies. The current total of the nightrunners is like, six. Still, dreaming about strategy and English combat and peninsulas is at least distracting Strange from his guilt over causing a snow day and his trepidation about Lambert taking the Nightrunner's role. ]

Perhaps I'll ask those already here if they've got any sort of books on strategy to begin with.

[whattaprick]

[ Ironically, Lambert would have taken orders from a new Nightrider pretty well ... if only because it's what he's used to doing. Leadership, that's a whole new ball game for him, so Strange isn't wrong to think he needs advice ... this just isn't super helpful as far as suggestions go. The witcher grimaces, shaking his head quickly with a quick bark of laughter. ]

Strange, this is a faerie carnival, not an army. [ You know, in case he'd forgotten that little tiny detail. ] I'm not leading anyone to war. Mercenaries and scouts, remember? We go where the Ringmaster tells us to.

[ In theory, at least. In practice, he already knows, it's not so simple -- especially since the Ringmaster might be powerful, but she's hardly omnipotent. Still, if they run into another bit of trouble, or if anything like the Celebration ever happens again, at least he's made an effort to have some kind of insurance at hand. ]

I need people who can do the job, and who can keep themselves alive. That's it. [ His eyes flicker to the ghost (for it is a type of ghost or spectre, he's figured out that much) over Strange's shoulder, and he smirks. ] No offense to present company.

[kingsroads]

[ Haunter shrugs in a 'none taken' sort of way. After all, it's not like he was ever alive to begin with, god Pokemon are weird.

But Strange can't help but think back to the chaos of the Celebration and their later trip to hell. Of course this isn't an army. There's not enough people for this to be an army in the first place, and far too many children. But if it was structured a bit more like an army, if all of them (including him) knew what to do when trouble happened, maybe less people would have become vampires. ]

I can do that much, [ he idly responds to that last statement. Do the job, keep himself alive, that part's easy. It's the keeping other people alive that Strange is inevitably going to beat himself up about when or if they fail. ] I've already suffered though the Agents, a giant crab, and a literal trip to hell, I'll easily survive whatever nonsense you toss us into!

[ It's 100% teasing on Strange's end, that small little sarcastic smile affixed to his face. ]

[whattaprick]

[ Pokemon are definitely weird. No arguments there. They're even weirder when you're not reliant on a helpfully informative Pokedex to tell you anything about them.

Lambert's mouth twists a little as Strange goes through the list of things he's had to survive during his time here, though it's more out of a cynical sort of amusement than anything else. ]

With that kind of luck, I should make you go ahead more. [ Haha, yeah right. Despite Strange's performance during that whole vampire debacle, Lambert won't readily forget how easily the magician's powers can be shut down or go awry at the drop of a hat. Also, you know, he's crazy and his wife's dead. That's a recipe for trouble if there ever was one. For now, though, his tail snakes out to tug a crate over so Lambert can sit down on it, apparently without very much conscious though. ]

Isn't making sure the Carnival can defend itself the Warden's lookout?

[kingsroads]

Well, the Warden is Sans.

[ said as if that explains everything. He's sure that there must be some competency in there somewhere, otherwise why would the Ringmaster have chosen him? It's just that finding the actual competency might be the hard part. It also doesn't help that one of the most recent conversations Strange actually had with Sans involved hot tubs and foot water and really, it was just a little uncomfortable all around.

Sans must be capable. But yeeeeeeeeah. ]

Besides, there are some things that I'd imagine even the Warden can't defend the Carnival against. [ Like accidentally making everything an icy hellscape, don't mind Strange as he looks a bit guilty again. ]

I really should apologize for that, [ said more to himself than to Lambert. ]

whoops here we go

[whattaprick]

What, burying the Carnival under two feet of snow? Can't imagine why you'd apologize for that.

[ Now he's just being an ass, though, as he proves when he reaches for the radio he's clipped to his belt, grinning as he thumbs it on and shoves its glowing sigil-etched side at Strange. ]

No time like the present. Don't be shy now.

they're adults

[kingsroads]

I need time, [ Strange remarks, with a little huff and a frown. ] You can't expect me to craft a perfect apology on the spot like this.

[ He also is straight up deflecting a bit and trying to dodge the question. Yeah, he SHOULD apologize but he needs to build up to this okay? ]

the adultest

[whattaprick]

Doesn't have to be perfect. [ Lambert says with patient faux-encouragement, the tone a mother might use to convince a child to open his mouth for his vegetables. ]

Apologies usually start with 'I'm sorry.' [ SUPER HELPFUL right?? ]

[kingsroads]

Which is only half the apology. Again, I'll need some time to decide what I'm going to actually say.

[ Like how he's going to answer the 'so why'd you do it in the first place?' question. Childermass is the only one who knows Arabella's trapped in faerie after all, and Strange is not entirely sure he wants everybody to know about the whole matter. ]

[whattaprick]

What's there to decide?

[ Lambert squints at the radio, cocks his head for a moment, then straightens. ]

'My name is Jonathan Strange and I'm dreadfully sorry for freezing the Carnival for a day. Won't happen again. Carry on!' [ It's actually not a terrible imitation of Strange's speaking mannerisms, though Lambert goes farther than that -- imitating, if only for the duration he's speaking, the way Strange holds himself, stuffy and proper. He lapses back into his normal slouch after a moment, grinning not at Strange, but the Haunter over his shoulder. How's that for a performance? ]

See? Easy.

[kingsroads]

[ Haunter gives Lambert a wide grin. The magician might be bristling at the imitation but the Pokemon finds it funny as hell.

Because yeah, Strange is just frowning at Lambert's imitation of him. He's never said 'carry on' in his life, thank you very much (this is a lie, he totally has) ]

I don't sound a thing like that! [ huffy frown! ] Besides, you're one to talk. How many people know you're the new Nightrider?

[whattaprick]

You're right. Should have thrown in a couple of peninsulas to make it really authentic.

[ Though when Strange mentions him being Nightrider, he can't help rolling his eyes. ]

You're the first one I told. [ See Strange? You used to be special. Now everyone else bored enough to listen in knows it too. Not that he would have kept it secret anyway, and moving into the supervisor trailer was a dead giveaway, but he hadn't been in a rush, either. ]

[kingsroads]

[ Oh. Well, Strange wasn't expecting that. He's not entirely sure how to react to the fact that he was the first person Lambert told. They were friends, of course, but Strange didn't expect that they were 'you're the first person to hear about the big news' level of friends.

There's the briefest of pauses before Strange deflects confusing feelings with teasing. ]

Look, just give me your radio before you manage to accidentally muck it up. You didn't know what it was the last time we talked, I'm not entirely certain you know how to work it in the first place.

[ UH YEAH ABOUT THAT..... ]

[whattaprick]

[ It's amazing what sorts of things can bring people together, really. In answer, Lambert turns the radio to Strange, letting him see where his finger's been holding down the button or however the hell the thing works, the point is, it's on the whole time. ]

Little late for that. [ He's not even going to protest the teasing. Sure, he doesn't know what it was called, but he figured it out just fine in the end, didn't he? ]

[kingsroads]

[ Maybe if Strange had grown up with any siblings, he wouldn't have fallen for something SO FRIGGEN OBVIOUS. As it is, he hasn't, so he straight up fell for it.

He looks over at Lambert, gawping with disbelief (party foul, dude) before launching himself at the much bigger witcher to try and pry the radio out of his hands. He's not ENTIRELY angry with Lambert, though he's certainly a bit angry. More than anything Strange is angry at himself because again, it's so friggen obvious.

Haunter thinks that all of this is fucking hilarious and is laughing up a storm. ]

[whattaprick]

[ In contrast, with a handful of older "brothers" and a grandpa/father figure whose nerves he's had ample practice grating on, Lambert's already maxed out his be an annoying little shit stat. He grins and dodges away as Strange lunges at him (that didn't work any better the last time you tried getting into a physical fight with him, Strange, why would it work now) and sidesteps him, happy to use his newfound height advantage to keep his radio well out of Strange's reach.

That was the plan, at least. But Lambert isn't so used to other parts of his anatomy just yet, and his balance is ever so slightly off from what it used to be. So after a couple of minutes of enthusiastic keep away, he takes a step onto what should be clear ground but is really where his tail is lashing enthusiastically, making him stumble back and plant a foot in a crate, teetering back... and in a last-ditch effort to stay vertical, the same tail he tripped over whips out, the unnervingly prehensile limb trying to wrap around the nearest object for balance.

In this case: Strange's leg. ]

[kingsroads]

[ You shit, let him get the radio! Strange counters Lambert's grin with an annoyed frown of his own. He continues to struggle and grab at the radio and is just about to realize you dingus, use magic to get it, when Lambert steps on his tail and falls back into a crate.

There's a brief moment where Strange looks triumphant (ha, that's karma for you) before Lambert's tail wraps around his leg and he finds himself going down as well, leg yanked out from underneath him. As Lambert falls backward, Strange just falls forward, leg yanked out from under him as he pretty much just wipes out, hitting the floor with a loud thump. ]

[whattaprick]

[ Being made of stern stuff, and with a fairly high tolerance for pain besides that, Lambert's ass hitting the floor doesn't hurt as much as it could -- though with landing on his tail, the sensation is a lot like sharply barking a shin. The sudden spill is violent enough for his radio to go flying out of his hand and skitter across the floor, ending up under a box or something. When Strange plants his ass against the ground, it sends all the dust motes in the air billowing up in a cloud that has Lambert coughing.

And then--

Laughing, though it's really more of a guffaw as he pushes himself to a sitting position, tail uncurling from Strange's leg to drape back across his own lap instead, its tip still twitching lazily. ]

[kingsroads]

[ As the dust motes billow up, Strange starts sneezing, just about three or so sneezes in a row. Thankfully, they're all fairly normal sneezes so hah, can't make fun of him for that. When he feels Lambert's tail uncurl from his leg, Strange pushes himself up,
so that he's sitting on the ground, looking over at Lambert. He attempts to brush off some of the dust from his clothing, but it's really for formality's sake: Strange is doing absolutely nothing about his hair which is just as covered in dust and probably has a few bits of box shards hanging out in there as well now. ]

You're ridiculous, you know that, right?

[ It's said in a matter-of-fact tone: not teasing, not judging, just an acknowledged statement that Lambert is goddamn ridiculous at certain points. ]

[whattaprick]

I'm not the one who sitting in cobwebs impersonating ghosts.

[ Is what Lambert points out in turn, amiably. Which is another way of saying -- right back atcha, Strange. Still, the bit with the tail is new, and he gives it a speculative, considering look. If he could control that...

Given that the hilarity's died down a little, Haunter seems mildly disappointed, its huge eyes glancing back and forth between them. It's enough to catch Lambert's attention, and he glances up. ]

Is this one yours? [ It certainly seemed to like Strange, anyway. ]

[kingsroads]

[ Strange shook his head as he looked over at the Haunter with something close to fondness. He's only spent a day with this Pokemon but already they've become thick as thieves. ]

Grant's his own--I've no idea how to actually catch these things in the first place. [ he is a goddamn failure of a Pokemon trainer. ] I don't think I'd want to catch one even if I could. None of the ghosts here seem all that partial to sunlight.

[ Besides, what would he do with a Pokemon? Strange isn't really big on the whole go around and challenge the island trial sort of thing. It just isn't his cup of tea. So they'd...what, loiter around and do nothing? Probably not. And it's not like most of what Strange would want to do (check out libraries and schools, try some of the food) would interest Haunter, what with it being dead and everything. Ghosts can't eat. ]

[whattaprick]

If it's not yours, why'd you name it already?

[ Though it's true that Strange looks like he can barely take care of himself, let alone another living thing. Some people would say the same of Lambert, probably, but despite appearances, he does know a thing or two about animals. Hard not to, when you depend on one to get you around from one job to another...

Speaking of ghosts, though, he seems to remember the cold spot on his chest where a wolf's head would normally hang and react to the presence of the supernatural, and he frowns. ]

Hey, where's my medallion?

[kingsroads]

I can't just call it Pokemon. I don't know what species it is!

[ This despite the fact that Haunter regularly says "Haunter" and the Gastly here also regularly says "Gastly." That doesn't tell Strange anything, it could just be like a parrot. Besides, it would be like naming a dog 'Dog.' That's just silly.

As for the question, Strange shrugs and answers in a nonchalant manner. ]

Probably under my bed. Why do you ask?

[whattaprick]

[ Lambert looks at Strange, with raised brows. ]

You mean the way it keeps saying 'Haunter' didn't give it away? [ He's picked up a few tips and tricks, here and there. However, any amusement in his expression quickly fades at Strange's answer. It's not so much what he says as how he says it. ]

'Probably?'