⇨ 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

gonna assume he knows at least vaguely what kindergartens are by now?? lmk if that works

[dontpokethat]

Ginko just... looks at her for a moment, pressing his mouth into a thin line.

"Regardless of how well it would work, I doubt the locals would appreciate that."

He knows it's not like she's actually going to do it, and probably doesn't have the option at this point, but still: Peridot no.

WORKS JUST FINE FOR ME I mean she does love to brag about her qualifications

[periphrasing]

SHE CAN'T HELP IT OKAY, SHE MISSES IT. It's what she was made for, Ginko :(

Peridot echoes part of that thought pretty much exactly: "Don't worry, it's not like I'm actually going to set up a production facility here," she snorts, rolling her eyes with amusement. "Even if I could, it would be incredibly impractical... and that's to say nothing of the moral issues involved."

The gem turns back to a display containing various igneous rocks, a sad smile creeping over her features as she glances down at it. "I just like to challenge myself sometimes, you know? I mean, being a Kindergartner is my primary function."

[dontpokethat]

“Well, that’s good to hear.” It’s… not actually as sarcastic as his phrasing might suggest. He knew she couldn’t, and probably wouldn’t, but the confirmation is nice all the same.

Then he goes quiet, following her gaze to the display. “...Yeah. Can’t fault you for that. No harm in thinking over the logistics, right?”

[periphrasing]

"Right. Exactly!" she chirps. Then she adds more hesitantly, after glancing around briefly: "But uh... On that note... If you don't mind, maybe don't tell Steven or Amethyst I was talking about this stuff? I think it would probably upset them."

[dontpokethat]

Ginko nods, glancing over at her again with a small smile. "I can keep quiet. Probably best not to stress them out if it can be avoided."

[periphrasing]

She looks relieved. "Thanks. It's just that they're pretty sensitive about that kind of stuff, I guess on account of what almost happened to Earth in our dimension? You know how it is." Peridot literally shrugs. She does get it! Kind of. But it certainly doesn't bother her to talk about at all.

"SSssssooooo anyway," she says, changing topic abruptly. "How have things here been going for you? Does the Ringmaster have you out trying to acquire new beasts for the menagerie at all?"

[dontpokethat]

"Yeah, I... imagine that would do it." Near planetary destruction will make people sensitive about that kind of thing.

"Not yet, but we'll see." He snorts quietly, giving a small shrug. "I wouldn't be surprised if she wants something from here, but honestly? If she's not planning to make me get hold of it, I won't complain."

Look, he doesn't really trust himself to be able to capture one of these things, and could anyone blame him.

Honestly the menagerie should have a Guzzlord, that would be the worst

[periphrasing]

"Whaaaaat." Peridot puts her hands on her hips, frowning at him. "Where's your sense of initiative Ginko? The passion for the job?" YA LAZY BONES.

jfc. can you even imagine

[dontpokethat]

RUDE. "Hey, now, I have plenty of passion for my job. Specifically the part that involves actually taking care of the animals once we've got them."

At least it doesn't poop. No droppings to clean up.

[periphrasing]

"Alright, fine, but you could be doing so much more," Peridot insists. "You could be out gathering specimens to add to the roster right now! You could be working towards impressing the Ringmaster, and getting a promotion to a supervisor position!"

true but imagine the feeding costs

[dontpokethat]

...Okay. Sorry, Peridot, but he's going to have to laugh here. He's not really laughing at her, but he's definitely laughing at... well, at the idea.

"As ridiculous as this might sound, I'm not sure I want a supervisor position, never mind being qualified for one. I've seen the kinds of workloads you guys get stuck with."

He respects that Peridot and the others can keep up with so much responsibility, of course. But... he's not sure he wants it himself.

"It's probably best for everyone if I just stick to the menagerie."

It eats all the other animals in the menagerie problem solved

[periphrasing]

"If you say so," Peridot says a little uncertainly. She genuinely does not understand how your mind works Ginko, but. Whatever. Not like she can force you to be ambitious.

"Still couldn't hurt to try and impress the Ringmaster a little, though..." She grins, her eyes alight with the thousands of possibilities. "I bet you could catch something really incredible if you searched around the summit of the volcano."

i would not call that solving ANYTHING

[dontpokethat]

This man does not have an ambitious bone in his body, let's be real. He'll stick to feeding animals and mucking out stalls, thanks.

"You think so? Bet I could catch fire, for one thing." After a moment, though, he does respond a little more seriously. "Really, though, I'm... not sure I should go up there on my own. And I don't have one of those animals to bring with me."

NO FUN!!

[periphrasing]

“Well... Maybe I could go with you!” Peridot says all too eagerly. “I mean, I'm basically fireproof.”

Maybe Ginko won’t catch on that she really just wants someone to go with her to check out that lava.

[dontpokethat]

"What, you're going to absorb the heat, then?"

Still, though, he looks up at the volcano thoughtfully. "...Could be interesting to check things out up there, though. As long as we're careful."

He... might be considering it, maybe.

[periphrasing]

“Please. We’ll be the most careful we can possibly be!”

Pause.

“I mean, I can’t absorb all the heat, that would just be ridiculous. But we’ll watch our footing.”

[dontpokethat]

"...Alright. Why not." He's kind of curious, anyway. "But for the record, if one of us does end up falling in or something, it's not my fault."

[periphrasing]

"Grrreat!" She does an excited little pumping motion across her chest with one arm. "Now all we have to do is figure out how to get up there!"

Which she has absolutely no ideas about, so. She's kind of hoping Ginko will just fill in with something.

[dontpokethat]

Yeah. THAT PART.

Ginko frowns, looking around thoughtfully. "Well... man, do they even let people go up there? That seems like the kind of thing there might be rules about."

Y'know, for stopping tourists from falling in, stuff like that.

"Might have to be careful if we want to get up there."

[periphrasing]

"Hmmmm..."

Peridot taps her foot, staring at the floor thoughtfully for a moment.

"I could see if Lapis can fly us up there...?"

Lapis will not fly them up there. She already knows this, and the uncertainty is pretty plain on her face.