⇨ 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

[mirrortide]

It's too late when Lapis realizes her mistake. Peridot is already snickering when she realizes she's misheard her name this entire time. It's undoubtedly embarrassing.

"Stop that before you make me bury you in the sand and leave you for high tide." Because she will. She absolutely will, don't think she wont.

[periphrasing]

"I'm sorry, I can't-- nnnmmmmffsnnnrk, I can't help it!" Peridot starts cackling, unable to restrain herself. "They sound so similar but I didn't even REALIZE... But this explains everything! And, and-- Wait, that's not even the best part!"

She holds the pager up so Lapis can see it and points at the Pokemon in question, snickering gleefully. "Look at this! It's even blue! AND... it's a water type!!"

[mirrortide]

Remember how you said to keep a low profile, Peridot? Well, unfortunately Lapis is now neglecting to listen, a giant, watery hand rising up out of the ocean.

She's gonna smack Poor Peridot down into the sand. It's fine, she's durable.

[periphrasing]

Oh my god Lapis what the hell

Okay well congratulations, buddy. There's a moment where Peridot's gleeful sneering contorts into surprise, and then bam. Nice work Lapis. You have successfully punched your pint-sized, iron-burned, still-recovering-from-torture roommate face-first into that beautiful Alolan sand. A+.

[mirrortide]

Lapis is a good friend like that.

At the very least she's not leaving? That counts for something right? Even if she's still clearly upset with the way she crosses her arms. "Still think it's funny?"

Lapis, chill.

[periphrasing]

"Kind of," Peridot admits, gurgling faintly. She doesn't budge. She's still face-down and her voice is muffled by the sand.

[mirrortide]

Honestly she only feels mildly guilty for putting Peridot face down in the sand. Thankfully for Peridot though, Lapis doesn't try and sink her down further.

"Well it's not."

[periphrasing]

The green gem finally shakily extricates herself from the beach and staggers to her feet, brushing herself off. "It's still a little bit funny. But anyway, what are we supposed to do now? Your gem lead is a bust, and that was kind of our plans for the afternoon..."

[mirrortide]

"It's not funny. And I don't know! Now I don't really have a plan either." Is sulking in the ocean a good plan... She can absolutely do that. "I don't know, is there anything interesting around here to actually pay attention to?"

[periphrasing]

Don't you dare go sulk in the ocean, missy.

"Hrrrmmmm," Peridot rumbles thoughtfully, glancing up and down the beach. She does feel kind of bad that Lapis is so upset about this...

Well. She has this ride pager. Might as well use it for something fun? Obviously calling a lapras here after the previous 'incident' would be a bad call, so something else that goes on the water will have to do...

"Here. Let me try something."

She walks up to the waters edge and punches a button on the pager. In a few short seconds, something comes tearing across the bay, a sharp fin slicing up through the surface as it rushes through the deep blue water. It comes to an abrupt halt at the rocky edge of the shore, emerging with a burst of spray, beady eyes and pointed teeth.

...The spray splashes Peridot in the face, who reacts by squawking like an incredibly graceless bird.

[mirrortide]

Lapis watches the thing tear across the bay leaving large wakes from its fins, only to stop suddenly and spray down Peridot with a burst of water.

She likes this thing already, but she's also not about to trust a wild animal in the water. Sorry Peridot. "It looks like some of the fish I saw before." When she was Malachite, she means. It... looks like it's lacking the entire back end, though.

Lapis does move a little closer, clearly curious.

[periphrasing]

"Shaaaaaaaaaaa," goes the Pokemon, saying hello by way of opening it's mouth and showing off it's many sharp teeth. It seems like maybe it's trying to... smile...? But lacks the facial dexterity to do so.

"It's called a 'sharpedo', Peridot explains, trying to wipe her face off on her sleeves. "You're supposed to ride it, and it goes super fast and you can break stuff with it!"

Which... Peridot actually hates going really fast! But Lapis seems bummed out, and she wants to try something different to cheer her up.

[mirrortide]

"Is that supposed to encourage me to get on it?" Because Lapis thinks that Peridot might be lacking some intelligence, there. "I can go fast and break things on my own." Sorry, Sharpedo. "Especially in water." In case Peridot might have forgotten.

She is, however, going to poke the strange looking fish pokemon. Right in the nose.

[periphrasing]

"Sha!" it says indignantly; that's the most sensitive part of the shark, Lapis! Shaking its head, it drops a few inches below the surface so that it's nose is no longer exposed and gives Lapis the stink-eye.

Peridot's ears droop. "But Lapiiiiis," she whines, "this is perfect for us right now! We can do something fun together, and you can distract yourself from that embarrassing misunderstanding that happened just now! It'll be great!" PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE HOW COOL AND THOUGHTFUL OF A FRIEND SHE IS BY ACCEPTING THIS PROPOSAL!

[mirrortide]

"It doesn't even like me." She replies, taking the fact that all she did was touch it for it to give her the stink eye? It's absolutely not helping her issues about trusting a strange animal to do what she can already do.

[periphrasing]

"...You poked it," Peridot retorts, a little impatiently, as if that alone should explain everything. "Think about it, how would you have liked it if, when we first met, I just stuck my touch stumps right in your face without asking?"

[mirrortide]

"When we first met you interrogated me." Lapis points at Peridot accusingly, voice completely flat. One of those is significantly worse than being poked. "You also ended up dragging be back to Earth. Where I had just escaped from, if you remember."

[periphrasing]

"I was speaking in a broad hypothetical sense!" Peridot blushes, flustered. "Look, Steven taught me how to deal with beasts like these. You have to try to think how it thinks."

The green gem crouches in front of the sharpedo, putting on her best grin. "Hey there, new friend. Can you help me show Lapis that you don't hate her?"

Sharpedo looks up at Peridot suspiciously, but after a second it lifts its' snout out of the water again. "Shar," it says.

[mirrortide]

Lapis looks on, completely unconvinced at Peridots words and the Sharpedos reaction. "It looks like it likes you a lot more than me. Why don't you get on it instead?" It's going to take a lot more than the creature poking its snout back out of the water to convince her of anything.

[periphrasing]

"Okay fine," Peridot concedes, just mildly annoyed. She is trying really hard for you Lapis?? You honestly can't meet her half way?? GEEZ.

She stands back up and assesses the Pokemon, trying to figure out how best to approach this. "Alright... Should be simple, right?" she says aloud, mostly to herself more than Lapis. She stretches one stubby leg out, wobbling a little, trying to reach the edge of the saddle with one foot.

[mirrortide]

She's going to watch her do that, crossing her arms. Lapis is going to remain unconvinced of getting onto an animal for a long while yet, sorry Peridot. Lapis will however move to help Peridot at the very least, since she has that snazzy water walking ability and Peridot... doesn't.

She offers her a hand. "Need some help?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot eyes the hand for a second, but takes it.

"I could have gotten it eventually," she says a little defensively. "But... this will expedite matters. So. Thank you."

[mirrortide]

Wow, Peridot. Lapis doesn't bite, despite what her new teeth might suggest. Lapis raises an eyebrow at the defensiveness, but says nothing, opting to instead actually be useful and help Peridot onto the shark pokemon.

[periphrasing]

She seems a little unsteady in the saddle at first, going wide-eyed and crouching down against the sharpedo's back uncertainly. Once she realizes she's not going to wobble off, though, she sits up and grins confidently, puffing her chest out. "See? Nothing to worry about!"

[mirrortide]

... Huh. Not even a little wobbling. "I guess you look stable enough."

Suddenly, she breaks out into a grin. "Race you." Remember what Peridot said about how Lapis shouldn't use her powers? Sorry, Peridot. Lapis is off. She might not be using her wings, but she's definitely surfing the waters surface, getting off towards the deeper ocean.