FEBRUARY 2026 EVENT LOG

[bayhelpers]

⋆✩ SNOW MORE WINTER! ✩⋆

As February arrives, the heavy snowfall that dominated and defined most of January finally comes to its end. Little by little, the precipitation disappears, replaced by a gleaming winter sun high above the region. With the sun comes the first signs of the incoming spring as well - slowly, white melts to be replaced with green, and whispers of plans for field planting start to crop up.

It seems that the end of winter is on everyone’s minds! Or at least, it’s everyone’s hope right now.

i. SLUSH TROUBLES ON OUR MINDS

WHAT EVERYONE WISHED FOR

With the snow finally melting to make way for eventual green pastures, it seems the guilds collectively decide that now is the time to start making headway on any plans that have been sitting on the backburner. For all that they were quick to get on the case of their interdimensional recruits about overworking, the leaders sure do become scarce - Polteageist in particular ends up in meeting after meeting with various scholars to discuss topics of investigation, while both Mightyena and Ribombee become otherwise occupied by their plans involving the regions beyond the Bay.

It’s been a particularly frigid winter compared to the normal as it seems; under ordinary circumstances, they wouldn’t have snow at all in February! With those fears on their mind, they’re working overtime to sort out how far behind they’ll be on necessary harvests and forest upkeep.

But it isn’t all doom and gloom in the town. While the leaders might be running hen-pecked, the Pokemon in Bottlecap Bay’s main town are in a state of anticipation for what they hope will be an imminent change in the weather. While it’s typical for the annual Starfall Festival to begin around this time, there hasn’t been a single meteor shower all week… In fact, not one shooting star can be seen all month! The psychic Pokemon predictions for this year's shower say it will be incredibly late - and while that happens sometimes, some Pokemon get especially antsy, gossiping about the fortunes they hope to receive or even preparing festival foods ahead of time. Just in case.

The influx of social clubs is somewhat more effective when it comes to giving Pokemon things to do in this barren month. Maybe if the astronomy club looks hard enough, they will see those meteors! Maybe the mystery club can investigate the matter, even if they can’t directly go to space. Or maybe, everyone just needs a distraction.

The sports club sure seems excited about the snow melting after all!

The highlight of the club activities comes from the music club, which decides to set up daily music lessons in front of the questboard! Or perhaps it's a low point, depending on who you ask… at any given moment, you might be regaled by a genuinely nice tune, or by an utter cacophony. Spend too long listening, and you'll be urged to join in!

JUST DON’T THINK ABOUT IT

⟡ Pokemon attempting to follow and listen in on Polteageist won’t get very far - they take privacy very seriously on matters like this! But there’s a chance one might catch the phrase ‘expedition team’, ‘messenger’, or even ‘delayed’ before a door closes.

⟡ As for Mightyena and Ribombee, while their office hours are notably cut short it’s far easier to determine what’s going on with them - Mightyena for her part is busy ensuring the melting snow doesn’t just flood the tunnels all over again. It’s clear that as grateful as she is for the pipe system now installed, she doesn’t fully understand what they can and can’t do.

Ribombee, in addition to claims of working with Polteageist on a growth plan for various necessary gardens, is preparing for the annual ‘burn-off’ in the woods. As he’ll happily - if hurriedly - explain, controlled fires are necessary to encourage the growth of many trees, and it additionally clears out material that could spark a deadly forest fire come summer! The more you know.

⟡ Through much of early February, there will be an abrupt increase in local membership in clubs that various Pokemon established late last year. Clubs are always accepting new members, so characters with a budding interest have plenty of options!

⟡ Don’t forget that player quests are open for all to submit and/or participate in!

RIME FALLS

In the midst of preparations for all the expeditions launching out of Skull Town, a small round bird Pokemon Teleports into the center of town, calling for help. As many Pokemon feared there would be, sooner or later: there's been an absolutely massive avalanche in the environs of Icefall Lake. And unlike the handful of smaller avalanches this season, this one has gone right through a zone heavily inhabited by local Pokemon.

Natu is here to beg for help! Lurantis is commendably quick to jump into action in a crisis, yanking everyone off expedition preparations and organizing squads of Pokemon - some of which are immediately sent off on foot or by air, perhaps even carried by other flying Pokemon, and others who are teleported one by one with an increasingly tired Natu.

However you get there, the site of the avalanche is a mess, with the Icefall region's sparse plants uprooted, boulders dragged downhill, and a giant cloud of powder white still not entirely done settling to the ground. One mountainside is stark gray against all the other white peaks near it, its side completely stripped of snow. And, of course: scattered everywhere are buried Pokemon. Some were just in the area, some found their snow dens collapsing and flowing downhill around them, some were at the very bottom and turned to run but weren't fast enough...

The Pokemon that Lurantis prioritizes sending to the scene first are those who have an advantage in finding anyone buried under the snow, as well as Pokemon who can dig effectively and Pokemon who can provide medical attention. And of course, anyone who can transport other Pokemon quickly, such as by flight, will end up enlisted as carriers. The Pokemon local to the Icefall region are generally resistant to cold, and all Pokemon are deceptively hardy, but most still can't survive indefinitely without air - and every moment under the snow is a moment they're using up their air pocket.

Lurantis is quick to follow the immediate response by sending anyone else who is available - can you dig at all, even if you'll never compete with a Drillbur? It's your turn to go. There are still live Pokemon buried by the time this secondary group makes it out, but by this point there's enough hands on deck digging that it's reasonable to find other ways to help too. Perhaps someone could coordinate the groups of local Pokemon that have been unearthed and can help, or comfort the ones sitting around in a state of shock. Some rescued local Pokemon vanish once they've expressed their gratitude and helped where they can, preferring to head right back into their lifestyle in the wilds. But for those who now have nowhere else to go, or are too scared to, someone needs to figure out where to put them. And eventually, once everyone who can be saved has been... well, someone has to deal with the Pokemon who didn't make it.

None of this is helped by the weather in the Icefall region, which is fluctuating wildly between thawing sun and heavy snow showers in periods of time as short as half an hour. Throughout a truly long and miserable day, Pokemon keep glancing nervously at surrounding snowy peaks. But in the end no other avalanches follow the big one. Still, it makes for hours of work that alternate between having everyone overheating from exertion and then shivering in an icy cold wind.

LIVING UP TO ITS NAME

⟡ The Pokemon of Icefall Lake are able to survive for much longer than humans would in the same circumstances - and some can survive almost indefinitely, like a buried Geodude. But that doesn't mean they can dig themselves out from below, so rescues are still very necessary!

⟡ Players may choose how dark or hopeful they make their threads based on this prompt! Please just make extra sure to label your threads with appropriate CWs.

ii. PULLING A HUNT

EVERY LITTLE KINGAMBIT HELPS

When the bounty reports first reach the Quest Board, it’s easy to assume things will proceed much the same way they did almost a year ago. After all, last year, three mysterious Pokemon - only one clearly identifiable - were found to be creating havoc of some kind near Bottlecap Bay. These same Pokemon were tracked down and brought to justice, with all three ultimately coming to their senses and offering their support in recompense.

As the bounties for these new culprits are investigated however, it becomes clear that things are a little different this time; particularly when many of the teams find themselves turning back in opposite directions from where they began. This isn’t a matter of picking away at a fleeing Pokemon. The teams need to find it first.

And that in turn means that they need a lot more support than anticipated. Teams that assumed they would be wandering a forest are now looking at the floodplains of Heavy Downmoor. Those who readied themselves for the extreme heat of Furnace Mountain in the meantime have been funneled right back out into the forest. And as for Icefall Lake…

…well, as it turns out, no one investigating that particular region has found themselves with this problem, but it is also a lot more dangerous than anticipated given the avalanche and snowmelt. With so many Pokemon already at their last wits trying to manage recovery and rescue, it’s no surprise that the number of tasks on the Quest Board begin to increase…and it’s even less surprise when Pokemon local to each region begin to simply stop known guild members in the middle of a task with their own requests.

The Pokemon of the wilderness have taken note of the helpful nature of their neighbors - sure, they’ve started more fights with each other than can be counted, but that’s just a part of being a Pokemon! When it comes to dangers like this, they know enough to put those rivalries aside. Mostly, at least. As such, it’s not just those investigating the trails of mysterious Pokemon being pulled aside to help with clearing debris, or reuniting separated Pokemon - it’s anyone who happens upon their path!

RUNNING RAGGED

⟡ As investigations proceed on the Bounties, teams will begin battling with their quarry - but for some odd reason, no team ever seems to encounter the other until they’re actually at the battle itself.

⟡ While nothing is technically stopping Pokemon from attempting to help these investigations, they will constantly find themselves wandering back to Skull Town - it doesn’t seem like the force of anything deliberate, but it does explain what’s giving those teams so much trouble, doesn’t it?

⟡ Pokemon will be pulled aside by locals for all kinds of tasks, and we encourage players to be creative! Perhaps someone needs help shoring up their den. Maybe they’re looking for a forage buddy. Or maybe they just really need someone to scratch that spot on their back they can’t reach…

iii. RIFT AS AN ARROW

SPACING OUT

In the wake of Pokemon finally being sent out on their investigation expeditions, odd things start to occur in several areas around Bottlecap Bay and Skull Town.

Pokemon going through the Forest are already familiar with the Forest's space and time being all misaligned… but is it worse than usual? It's definitely worse than usual. And there's something new, too: certain spots in the Forest are even more distorted than before. Stumble over a tree root sticking over the ground, fall sideways, and - for a second, you're suddenly in a nightmare, the very air you're breathing burning, the trees around you crackling in the heat, violet and red swirling about you - and then you hit the ground, back in the Forest you know. But you're still coughing, and your paws are scorched.

Pokemon still helping with the aftermath of the avalanche in Icefall Lake will experience similar cracks in space. Trip through a rift, and you'll find yourself frozen alive in a block of crystalline clear ice - you can't move an inch, but you can see that you're trapped in a massive glacier that towers far above your head. It's too bitingly cold for even a Fire Pokemon to melt. Just when you're ready to start screaming, you'll tumble back out into the relatively friendly snow of Icefall. But you're still shivering violently.

Pokemon in the Heavy Downmoor - perhaps collecting rocks, perhaps busy with something else - run into it too. Step into a rift and your paws will never meet the ground - you've just missed the edge of a high cliff instead of the terrain of the Downmoor that you were expecting. You're falling, head over heels, sky and cliffside and sky spinning past you in a dizzying, terrifying rush. It's too fast for even a Flying Pokemon to recover; you're constantly smashing against the jutting sides of the cliff, bouncing violently off with rocks sent clattering down ahead of you. You don't reach whatever's below before you're spat out back into the Heavy Downmoor - but you're still battered, and bruised, and shaking.

In all these areas, sometimes a rift will send you just a little bit sideways instead - perhaps, for just a moment, you'll just be in a different area of the Forest or Icefall Lake or Heavy Downmoor. There you'll see some of your friends battling against a giant, shadowy figure. React fast enough, and you'll have time to lash out against your friends' opponent with a single attack - then you'll be back where you were, head spinning. Was that real? Are they doing alright? All you can do is wait, and hope.

GETTING SHORT RIFTED

⟡ The rifts in all these areas never swallow a character for longer than a moment, and once characters are spit back out, they're immune to falling through any more for at least a couple of hours.

⟡ However, the things characters experience do seem to be real, in that any injuries characters obtain stick! (And are characters perhaps influencing the bounty quests…?)

⟡ All the rifts cease to be instantly once this month's heavy quests conclude.

✩ OOC NOTES.

⟡ CWS: Avalanches, Injury, Implied Pokemon Death, Claustrophobia, Natural Disaster, Disorientation

⟡ While all Light Quests must be submitted by the 25th of the month, Players may submit their own Player Quests at any time before that point! (Though we recommend saving Player Quests for the next month if it is after the 20th.)

⟡ Have any questions related to the event? Ask them here! If your question is more general for the game, please make sure to direct it to the FAQ page instead. Thank you, and happy threading!

FULL NAVIGATION

Comments

Goro Akechi | Persona 5 Royal | OTA

[truthdecided]

A. What Everyone Wished For

[With all the hustle and bustle since last month, it's hard for Akechi to sit still.

He can be seen all over the place, making frequent visits to the Quest Board to look at the available missions and see if he can find others to accompany him on quests.

He can also be spotted at the Archives, searching for information on Pokémon that may match the descriptions of the bounties. Passersby may notice he's pulled out a tablet on Bronzong, and a few assorted fairy type tablets as well, trying to discern possible traits...

And, of course, in true detective fashion, he's a frequent attendee of the Mystery Club, bringing both his phone and journal to address the others.]

So, the timing of these bounties with the recent nightmares strike me as suspicious. Sharing information will be pivotal, so I'm curious which bounties you're prioritizing.

[He brings a wing over his chest.]

Ren, Noelle-san, and I have our sights set on the Northern Forest. That being said, I am familiar with Furnace Mountain and can share my own observations as needed.

B. Rime Falls

[Akechi does not enjoy the cold. Not one bit. However, he can fly, and that flight is vital for transporting both medical supplies and injured Pokémon.

As such, he can be seen soaring about in his sweater vest, scarf, and Safety Goggles, occasionally beating back snow with his wings or using Drill Peck to cut right through it.]

You can bring your injured to me, and I'll do what I can to carry them back to the outpost. However, I can only carry one at a time.

[He is small, after all. Perhaps it'd be different, if he were a Corviknight.]

C. Sparking Stones [Closed to Holmes]

[As a bird, caves are hardly ideal for Akechi. Fortunately, he is small enough to navigate without terrible trouble. The charged stones present a potential risk, but it's one worth taking, not only as a resource for the town, but for the opportunity to study their effects.

Holmes, being a steel type, also is better tailored to this environment, and his inquisitive mind should help in this operation. He may be new, but this is an opportunity for two intellectuals to step away from all the bustle in both the bay and Skull Town.]

I admit, I lack the scientific skills to fully dissect the nature of these stones, but their ability to consistently hold a charge is rather promising...

[Ah, there's one over there, sparking and aglow. Magnificent...]

D. Spacing Out

[Perhaps it happens one moment, when Akechi's team is facing their target. You fall through a rift. Your eyes briefly meet Akechi's, and then you're gone...

Or perhaps it's the opposite. One moment, he's flying on one mission or another, and he's the one plummeting, eyes wide and beak agape until he steadies himself and manages to launch at least one Air Slash at the target...

And then he hits the ground, head spinning. He wobbles from foot to foot, eyes squeezed shut...]

...Spatial distortions. There must be a reason for it!

[He tries fluttering back into the air to investigate, but perhaps he ought to take it slow.]

E. Wild Card!

[Open to other tomfoolery! You're welcome to DM me or hit me up at Dorked. Open to both prose and brackets.]

A

[paperceptive]

I don't know that I'm going after any of them.

[ Odile's a seasoned enough adventurer back home, but she's gotten hurt in nearly every single one of her outings here. It does make some sense to her; she's had a lifetime to hone her Craft, and only a few months to get a handle on her Pokemon attacks. ]

I may focus on training. But it depends on what Siffrin does. [ They're not going out there without her, unless they insist on Furnace Mountain or something! ]

[truthdecided]

Have to keep them out of trouble, I presume?

[He flashes a small smirk. Oh, he knows that exasperation. Ren often puts him in a similar state of mind.]

[paperceptive]

Of course.

[ It's true~ ]

So I'll likely be here in case anything happens. Don't get yourself killed out there. [ She cares about Akechi as well! Though, she also knows he runs off into enough trouble that she is absolutely not taking the same tack she does with Siffrin. Someone else wrangle that kid. ]

[truthdecided]

Rest assured, we intend to act cautiously.

[Obviously, there are risks, but that's why they have to plan.]

Ample supplies are our first priority, of course, but both Ren and Noelle-san are adept for forested regions, and Ren can change his type as well.

[paperceptive]

Can he?

[ She knows that can happen in a few ways, but not all the particulars. ]

[truthdecided]

Yes. It's a rather odd ability. Protean, I believe they called it?

[He folds his wings like a pair of arms, humming.]

A rather rare ability shared by only a small selection of Pokémon, it allows them to match the type of any of their moves, regardless of if it's their original type.

Wild Card | Tough Luv!

[selfie_centered]

[Cater's attitude is even candier-coated than usual, but the hang of his eyelids over his blank, placid-smiling stare might suggest maybe he's not really in to this mission. it's not the mission itself, and it's not exactly Akechi, but Cater's not adjusting to the life of being a pokemon quite as quickly as he might like to. mostly because pokemon.... don't come with their phones. he'd arrived with no pockets and without his favorite device, without a camera, without even a skateboard— and by now this skater is bored, himself.

he'd picked the mission because it sounded easy, something he could tune out or at least get a few punches in. maybe it'll relieve some of this astronomical annoyance building up in him. either way, he's not sure what the hell a luvdisc is. it's been described to him, it's a water pokemon— flat, heart-shaped, kind of looks like its name?

egh. kind of sounds like sending them in is overkill, but at least it looks like participation. Cater's not rejecting the easy way out.

as they approach the bay, Cater wonders aloud;]

Wait, so, they're those lil' pink guys on the shore?

[truthdecided]

Indeed. The name is rather on the nose.

[He turns to watch them, wings folded at his sides.]

They aren't the most powerful water types, but their numbers may prove a bit irritating, so...

[With a flap of his wings, he whips up a Tailwind to increase their speed.]

Some added speed ought to even the odds.

[selfie_centered]

Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about numbers.

[Cater seems perhaps all too casual for someone who isn't making any moves to show off Double Team yet, though he does a couple of hops at the cast of Tailwind, almost like he's energized.

stretching out his arms either way as if getting ready for the fight, he suggests;]

Looks like this'll be my first real fight here, though.

[against what seems to be wet paper hearts, but. whatever. all the same, he's looking between Akechi and the numbers of luvdisc, estimating how much worth it's going to be to send out doubles, and when. they don't seem to work exactly like they did back home, so he's having to put a bit more thought into it.]

Good thing I've got a big brave birdy here to show me how it's done~

[truthdecided]

...You're lucky Ren isn't here.

[He says, as if Ren wouldn't find the flirtatious banter hilarious.

Regardless, he has work to do, so with his speed boosted, he takes to the air, launching an Air Cutter to try and catch some of the Luvdisc off guard.

On the positive side, he lands the hit. On the negative side, one of the Luvdisc gets all... starry-eyed.]

Oh! Let us love yoooooou!

[So, suffice it to say, the Luvdisc all pivot. This may not have gone quite as intended.]

[selfie_centered]

[rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Cater just waits with his hand on his hip for Akechi's demonstration— but is surprised immediately by Luvdisc's reaction.

he laughs, bracing his paws on his knees.]

Oh man! You sure are popular today, huh?

[he should probably be paying more attention though— one of the Luvdiscs jets a blast of Water Gun in his direction, and it's by pure luck that Cater notices in time to duck out of the way.]

Hooo-kay, time to get serious...

D

[goodapple]

Oh my gosh!

[Neige, presumably fluttering about in the midst of his own little task, diverts his attention at once when he catches sight of a little body plummeting out of the sky. Quite the little bird himself, he flies over as fast as he can, but isn't able to make it in time to try and help break his fall.

Instead, he lands beside him, holding out his fluffy wings as if to try and offer something to help stabilize him.]

Are you alright? That was quite the fall you just took! Oh--please don't try and get back in the air so quickly!

[He's worried!]

[truthdecided]

It was... unsettling, I admit.

[The fluffy wing does at least help him find his footing, but Akechi can't help but glance around for signs of more rifts.]

Like a pocket of space folded in on itself. One moment, I was here, the next, I was elsewhere, only to land here once more.

[goodapple]

I'm not familiar with any kind of magic that works that way...

[His fluttering anxiety starts to settle, at least, when it seems that Akechi isn't so banged up from the fall that he's in any real danger.]

Oh--but I guess it's not magic, is it? I'm still wrapping my head around what pokemon can do and how it's different.

[truthdecided]

I am familiar with traversing from one plane of existence to another, though I'm not sure I'd call it "magic" in the most conventional sense. We typically used an app on our phones, though the app itself was granted by a malevolent false god.

[But that's neither here nor there, and Akechi takes a moment to smooth out his feathers.]

I've been told there are powerful Pokémon that embody concepts such as time and space. It may be related.

[goodapple]

I've never heard of an app like that...

[Malevolent false gods didn't exactly exist in Twisted Wonderland, anyway. Well. Kind of. Probably. As far as we know.]

Goodness, that does sound dangerous. I've only met peaceful pokemon so far, but--I've heard there are more aggressive sorts out there, as well. [Just like people, really.] One with that kind of power could cause a lot of damage if provoked, I can imagine.

C, hello here I am at last

[secondsmartest]

There are a number of chemical experiments I could think to apply to it, assuming the properties aren't lost when the stone is broken down into pieces.

[That's at least one possible experiment to try, anyway. Thinking of things to try, to test is at least familiar, a comfort in an unfamiliar situation. And he's trying to be helpfully social even while he doesn't know what he's doing.]

But I fear I am more of a chemist than a physicist, and this does seem akin to electricity. A naturally-occurring battery. Are they dangerous to handle, in that case?

[truthdecided]

We may want to handle them with care, at least until we return to the outpost. It's possible that we may be able to receive adequate supplies to tinker with them later, though we'll want to save a majority of them for Forretress-san.

[Which means they might as well start gathering their wares. A backpack should have more room than his satchel, without compromising his flight when the time comes, so he'll start by opening the largest pouch and tentatively grabbing one of the stones with his beak.]

[secondsmartest]

[For a moment he watches Akechi, reflecting on how at least he's come out of this with arms, if not exactly hands. Maybe that's something. Holmes lifts one of the stones gingerly, between both his paws.]

This world does seem to have some semblance of scientific order, at least. I'm sure it can be discovered, and I am certain the community can spare us one or two for that purpose.

[truthdecided]

The tricky part is finding the method to the madness behind the more fantastical attributes.

[Hmm... there are a few more stones glimmering further in the tunnel. That seems like a good next step, so he shuffles that way.]

Poison type moves may be somewhat grounded in their comparisons to venomous and poisonous animals, but the same can't easily be said of psychic type attacks, to say nothing of ghost types.

Wildcard (Total Whiteout)

[swordarc]

You see anything up there?

[III calls out, staring up at Akechi (with only slight envy at his ability to avoid all the deep snow!) from the ground. Pulling his scarf tighter, he cautiously reaches out with his psychic abilities for any trace of a Pokémon in need of rescue, but whether due to inexperience with this ability or just not being in range, he doesn't pick up on anything just yet.]

I hope we find them soon...

[truthdecided]

First, we ought to look for disturbances in the snow. Listening for sounds of distress will also aid us in our efforts...

[So, where to look? Thankfully, his keen eyes let him see far into the distance, where something shifting catches his attention.]

Ah, there. A bit to the northeast, the snow seems to be almost... thrashing.

[swordarc]

Oh? [III turns to look, but his low vantage point means he doesn't have quite the same view as Akechi does.]

Hang on- [III's trying again at reaching out with his psychic abilities, searching for anyone in need. After a moment he perks up, having indeed picked up on something.]

...Yeah, someone's over there. [III begins carefully moving towards the disturbance, ready to help.]

[truthdecided]

[Nodding, Akechi makes his way toward their target. Once they get close enough, he'll try beating away some of the piled snow with wind-based attacks...

The problem is, their sudden approach startles the buried Tyrogue. It's startled face pops out, eyes wide in alarm, before it starts thrashing to escape and attack.]