APRIL 2025 EVENT LOG

[bayhelpers]

⋆✩ SPRING FLING ✩⋆

The sun rises, and a gentle breeze blows. A day like any other arrives in Bottlecap Bay, and for many of the pokemon that so recently arrived it is a now familiar process. Members of the various guilds flock to the Quest Board, in search of tasks to better provide for the town. Others, maintaining businesses of their own within the small settlement, start to open their doors for another day of work.

There is something different about this day however, and it is a difference that defines the next number of them. There is never truly a dull moment here after all, and it’s time to get involved.

---

DONATION DRIVE

As spring fully settles into the bay, the clinic begins to advertise for additional activities on the Quest Board. A call for donors is made- but donors of what? Pokemon arriving in response to the request will find that answer to mean “anything and everything that can be given” - along with potential medical samples to help with further research into the mysterious illness, there are a great many things that can be made from shed feathers, brushed-out undercoat or trimmed horns and claws.

Or even sweat, alarming as that may seem.

Those willing will be given small interviews in which they determine what to donate, and after the process (however involved), be given a small boxed treat as compensation. And of course, they’ll record the contributions with their guild leaders too!

⟡ WHAT NOW?

Donated materials can be used for a great many things, and throughout the later half of April local businesses will be happily showing their relevant crafts off. Pokemon are invited to try their hand at sewing satchels made using Spinarak threads, spinning yarn from Stufful fur, or stuffing pillows with Ducklett down- and perhaps if they donated anything themselves, they can even make something of their own.

Literally.

---

NO “I” IN TEAM

With the need to re-evaluate the results of recent expeditions through the surrounding forest before making the move to branch out further, the leaders of the three guilds have come together with some training exercises to better pass the time. Rather than sit and wait between tasks determined by the quest board, the last weeks of April see various events hosted through the city with one goal in mind:

Team Building.

A. ⟡ SHOW-AND-TELL

As part of an effort to encourage understanding and community, the Guilds each host various meet-and-greets in their personal buildings- or in the case of the Lum Guild, the public Archives. It’s a chance for pokemon to show each other where they sleep and eat, to share a little of their lives with their fellows from other guilds.

There are also more awkward sharing activities- tossing a ball in a circle and giving a fact about oneself. Tying each other limb to limb and performing races. Or even gift exchanges with the donor crafts! Nothing says community like a present from the heart.

B. ⟡ STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT

As an extra step from simply showing what each guild room looks like, sleepovers will be encouraged through the remaining month as well. Perhaps it’s time for a repeat of the great Oran Sleep-Pile- or maybe a sequel hosting can be held in the Canopy with the Cheri Berries.

It’s a little trickier with members of the Lum Guild, with each one having their own apartment of sorts, but just ask! Surely a few friends can pile together in their Lum buddy’s house.

C. ⟡ THE GREAT ESCAPE

Polteageist is thrilled with the success of the ‘escape rooms’ from March. As such, the existing courses and challenges have been since repurposed in order to encourage pokemon to work together, improving on the initial project. Once again working in pairs, dangerous (but not lethal!) challenges await those who wish to sign up for them. As with before, there are three different rooms to choose from, and experienced rescue Pokemon will be on call the entire time. Anyone who takes longer than the allotted time will be rescued.

⟡ Ocean room. Two Pokemon are put to sleep and wake up in a small cave beneath the water, with pockets of oxygen for those who need them. Upon waking, they must work together to escape the labyrinth of caves beneath the water and make it back to Bottlecap Bay. Some obstacles along the way may include: a maze-like cave system with misleading routes, paths with less or no sunlight, strange plants that may inflict status effects, agitated or disoriented wild Pokemon, and varying water temperatures/underwater geysers. It has an hour time limit, so good luck!

⟡ Forest room. Two Pokemon are put to sleep and wake up in the center of a dense forest, with tree cover blocking most sunlight. Upon waking, they must work together to find their directions, navigate through thick brush and forest, and make it back to Bottlecap Bay. Some obstacles along the way may include: the fog, collapsed floors into cave systems, sudden steep drops, aggressive Pokemon and plants, vines, thorns, poisons and toxins. It has a two hour time limit, so good luck!

⟡ Cave room. Two Pokemon are put to sleep and wake up far beneath the city, in one of the many tunnels belonging to the mines. Upon waking, they must work together to reorient themselves and find a way out to Bottlecap Bay. Some obstacles along the way may include: unstable sections of mines leading to collapses, a vast assortment of tunnel directions leading to disorientation, extreme temperatures, lava pits, and lessening oxygen levels. It has an hour time limit, so good luck!

---

OOC NOTES.

⟡ CWS: body horror, medical imagery

⟡ Though dates specified cover only the last two weeks of April, players may assume continued donation drives and crafting projects to be available through the start of May, though less frequent.

⟡ We of the Bottlecap Bay Help Team would like to extend a sincere thank-you to everyone for their patience during the transition of tasks concerning the upkeep of the game. Current events have been taking a significant toll on many, but we are hoping to finalize Exploration Quest responses within the next few days. Thank you again, and happy threading!

FULL NAVIGATION

Comments

[outbounds]

Then that is a start, right? You are not where you were before.

[ none of them are. ]

Maybe your arguments will be more convincing here?

[outbounds]

[ a bit of a shrug? ]

They are not really found in Unova, but from what I know? They're always covered. No one's ever really seen what one looks like without the cloth. Mimikyu are verrrry defensive about it.

[ and that's just kind of a thing you get used to, with ghost types. some of them can be quite particular. when a lot of ghosts can be quite vindictive, or have specific dietary needs, it's wiser not to agitate them unnecessarily? ]

But they probably just make it themselves? They are said to be fairly lonely Pokemon.

[ so it is probably unlikely that they're being sourced from secret Leavanny or Spinarak weavers in the woods or something. ]

[dripdrive]

Instead of answering the innocent question, Anasui stares blankly at Guilmon for a long moment.

"... Can you seriously not read? How old are you?" Anasui, please.

[dripdrive]

...At least you somewhat remember the useful things. [Anasui!] The other memories will come back when they decide to come back. I'll make sure to prompt you then if I have questions.

[Which... is remarkably accommodating for Anasui's standards, not that it's much.

Anasui frowns though as they keep walking.] It feels like it's getting warmer. I don't know if that means we're getting closer to a lava pit or if we're closer to getting out of here because hot air rises.

[firealone]

[Firepaw pauses, and his ears dip down a bit.]

Sorry, did I say something wrong?

[shotinhead]

...Yeah. Sick. [ It's said so quietly, like admitting it is the hardest bit. Almost like he's ashamed of it. ] Which means my life here - afterlife? Whatever the hell this is, it's limited.

[shotinhead]

[ A little laugh, a tiny little one. ]

Hey, guess they really wanted to figure out what's up with me. [ Oh, he's trying to sound casual, but he really doesn't. ]

[shotinhead]

You know.

[ It's said with a bit of a smile, a little weak one. ] Common and dragons isn't the sort of thing I'd get used to hearing. What are they like, though?

[offtracks]

Ah - no, no, not at all! It simply...well, it sounds like a rather sad way to live to me. Is it not lonely, not to have other beings about?

[There are, it sounds like, other animals around. But they don't really share with them, not even in the way wild Pokemon will interact with each other. It's hardly all predation or hunting; it's plenty common for wild Pokemon to befriend others of other types.]

[firealone]

[He shrugs his shoulders a bit.]

Honestly, cats don't always get along with each other, much less other animals. We come together under the full moon to meet with other Clans, share stories and discuss things that affect the whole forest, but most of the time we only see the other Clans when we go into battle against them. And we're not supposed to speak to housecats, either.

[Although now that he says that, in as many words...]

...I guess it is a little lonely. But I hadn't thought about it until I came here.

[offtracks]

They have smooth skin, covered in mucus! As they grow, they develop a spiral shell, made out of steel! They can retreat entirely within it, or simply use it as a shield!

[snail dragons, or snagons,]

[truthdecided]

Was there something in particular that they needed to know?

[...Hm, judging by Courier Six's tone, though, maybe it's best not to pry.]

Well, regardless, they should really respect your boundaries. Cooperation is far more likely if they take it at your own pace.

[offtracks]

Well, if that is simply the way your world is, I suppose that makes sense.

[Though people can certainly dream of more. Isn't that what he and the other trainers of Hisui have been doing? But Ingo doesn't want to make Firepaw feel bad, or like he's somehow obligated to make overtures he wouldn't otherwise.]

[guilmon]

Guilmon pouts, snorting out a little smoke. "Guilmon just didn't have books! I had to stay hidden from people because I'm a Digimon. I bet if I had books now, I could read lots and lots!"

[guilmon]

"Ooh, I didn't know you could make balls with moss!" He giggles, grinning like an excited puppy. "The ball Guilmon and Culumon used came from a shed with lots of other supplies. Humans use them for sports!"

[offtracks]

It could also mean there are some other fire-types down here...

[He does pause, though, sniffing the air again. It is warming.]

We'll likely see something like Slugma first, before we happen across a lava pit. They're endemic, as they're made out of magma themselves!

[telewarped]

[Shoka is quiet for a moment, processing. The wobbly, benign smile of her disguise is at odds with her shock, confusion, anger.]

How limited?

[telewarped]

That's exactly what a penguin would say.

[Apparently satisfied, with a final snicker, she puts down what she was working on and shuffles closer to get a look at the materials he's testing out.]

Anyways—lemme see what you're working with here.

[Maybe she can help somehow? ... Or maybe she's just looking for more opportunities to poke fun at him. It's often hard to tell with her.]

[telewarped]

No kidding. Especially not with the kinda dreams this place's been showing us. Just when I thought they couldn't get any more messed up...

[She's heard all sorts of stories about them now, on top of the nightmares she'd been plagued with herself when she first arrived—most recently Ren's. His dreams, too, had left him with a scar and lingering, physical pains even in the waking world, so what Firoza's telling her now is no surprise, but it isn't Shoka's place to share that much.

Maybe it isn't her place to pry into Firoza's case either. If it was her, Shoka would surely hate it and resist with all her bite... But Firoza isn't much like her at all. And among those whose nightmares had gone away in the end, what was the commonality?

Eventually, she hears herself continue on awkwardly:] ... Listen. It sounds dumb, but... I think, sometimes, just talking about 'em helps. Somehow. If you want to? The dreams, I mean.

[dripdrive]

"Well, after this go to the archives. They have plenty of stone tablets to read here. Some of them are even book length, shockingly."

But Anasui wrinkles his nose (well, his beak) at the puff of smoke and straightens himself up.

"Digimon? Is that anything like a Pokemon?"

[dripdrive]

Who could have seen that coming... [Anasui mutters, making a face. He doesn't get every pun associated with Pokemon but he's already learned that he can reasonably guess what Pokemon is what based on their name. Stupid but useful, he supposes.]

I don't know too much about these challenges. If we do encounter another Pokemon, will they be wild? Or are they residents of the Bay too?

[Translation: should he hold back if they get in their way?]

[offtracks]

That...is an odd question.

[He seems rather somber about it.]

It seems as though they ought to be just like the residents of the Bay, but all the Pokemon I have met who lived outside of it were...strangely aggressive. They will not hold a conversation, and simply attack. No one seems to understand why that is.

[dripdrive]

[Anasui shrugs. Not odd to him. He doesn't care either way but he would rather not get in trouble for beating down some volunteer.]

Yeah... I noticed that too. Maybe because it's the land here or something influencing them. Or it's the other way around and something is making the residents civil.

[It's hard to say either way.]

[seacub]

[It's going past his legs. It's going up his waist. Emporio panics, scrambling to grab at Anasui's legs on a point where the perception of ground isn't. It's clear that he feels some kind of danger is there. He can't perceive anything else, and yet there's nothing there.]

A-

Anasui, you need to get out of the dirt, quick..!!

looks at calendar, looks slowly at you in growing horror *it's only may now tho...*

[seacub]

"Aba..." ...Oh, yes, the Huge dog. "...Oh, yeah that would be hard to say no to," he finds himself snorting. "It sounds nice though. Lum is more...separated? If you speak too loud, you can hear some of the others through the walls, but we still have our own little apartment spaces. Honestly it's a lot more than I'm used to, so it's been really nice."

As Ren continues to guide him, Emporio does his best to stay as close as possible. Best not to get stranded down here...