bottlecaplogs | APRIL 2025 EVENT LOG

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APRIL 2025 EVENT LOG

⋆✩ 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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh wow.

[He knew it came off pretty easy in the south forest but. Man.]

...Are you going to need a brush at some point? If that much is coming off on its own...

[He trails off, eyeing the mane.] ...I...I mean, it's still only spring on top of that.

Haha. Shoka's already had to at least once. Tried putting it in a braid, too.

[ which is kind of a non-answer, but hey, he's managed as best he could. what is he supposed to use, his mouth? his hind legs? ]

It is only spring. And Ingo says this subspecies is- typically found in the Icelands. I might not shed this much year-round.

[ or maybe he will, who knows. ]

A braid? [Hmm. That's. Hmmm.]

I...I'm not really worried about what you shed so much as what you don't. Especially if these are traits belonging to an arctic or sub-arctic region- that kind of coat normally needs a lot of brushing to free shed fur, it gets stuck otherwise and causes overheating..!!

[Emporio has read AN ENCYCLOPEDIA!]

I shouldn't be an arctic species? Outside of higher elevations or the Desert Resort on Route 4, Unova is overall pretty temperate. [ when Kyurem hasn't iced over half the region, anyway. ] And latitude-wise, Unova and Sinnoh— what Ingo knows as Hisui— are about the same, if I recall. The ocean is also not far from either.

[ so you know, it could be worse, they could be continental! ]

Sinnoh might be a little bit further north? So maybe a bit colder. But overall both of them should be about the same?

[ The snowy northern regions of Sinnoh can't be that much worse than the areas around Lacunosa or Icirrus in the winter? Actually, now he's just wondering how much the Absol up there shed in the summer...

But details aside Emporio's still right, he is definitely going to need some like, more thorough brushing than he's been able to give himself every now and then as summer approaches. ]

If a place is called 'Icelands', it sounds like there's a reason...

[But like, to be fair, he's from Florida. So.]

Mmm. North and South aren't a guarantee though. The united kingdom is really far north all things considered, but it has milder weather thanks to the currents surrounding it for example! ...at least that's what the book said...

[Ahem.] I...I don't think that matters. What does matter is it's definitely warmer here..?

Warm enough that it's probably better safe than sorry...

It shouldn't be too bad? Whatever else you can say about them. The thing about the underground is that it stays pretty cool.

[ As for aboveground, maybe he'll just melt into a puddle, who knows. ]

But, well. I will not object to more regular or more thorough brushing. Do not want to impose on anyone but if something useful can be made of it all then some people here might be happy at least.

[ Firoza. ]

[Well, that is true, Oran is a nice cool cave...]

...Maybe you can use the excess for pillows... [He finds himself muttering offhand, before shaking his head.]

Right. It might be good if you ask around about a shedding brush? The worst that happens is it does nothing, but I have a feeling we're going to be in for a surprise.

[And by surprise he means a whole extra subway sibling, wow,]

...Wish I had more to offer... [He can't help admit that bit. It feels a bit awkward, offering suggestions to everyone only to have nothing to give.]

[ It might be a little weird with pillows, knowing people are sleeping on something that came from him somehow ... but maybe that's just how it is? It's not like it's a bad suggestion for what to do with the resources they have. ]

You are fine. [ chirruped. ] No one is expecting you to solve all their problems for them. You are trying to be helpful. No reason to feel bad about that. The clinic [ and Firoza ] can figure out what they want to do with all this for now. And if they want to brush me down further they can.

... And later on I can ask about a shedding brush maybe.

[thank u firoza] Right!

...I wonder what they're going to do with the other materials being donated though. I think I saw a diglett over...dirt?

[It was just dirt though...]

... was it special dirt, somehow?

[ Was it like. A really unique soil sample from really far away or something. ]

[Emporio looks at least a little concerned about this.]

I.

It just looked like the dirt from around where they were digging if I'm honest...

[He doesn't understand...]

I can see the clinic maybe testing different kinds of soil samples, but I don't know what they'd be looking for...

[ most of it has been aimed at figuring out the weird mystery illness, right? maybe they might have some side projects but hmmm. ]

But if it was just the dirt around here. Then I really do not know what they would do with that.

[ maybe it can be processed somehow into the clay they write on here...??? is the soil composition right for that, he's not a ground type specialist you want a guy a city over for that. but even if that's the case then they probably don't need the Diglett specifically to be donating it, unless ... oh. wait. ]

...... crops?

Edited 2025-04-24 03:36 (UTC)

[He doesn't knowwwwwwwwww-

Uh!]

Oh- Like...maybe them digging through the soil does something to it that helps plant growth..?

[They are both Equally Lost.]

They do often help till fields...

[ beat. ]

I think it would be easier to just do that directly than donate the dirt.

Seems like it, so I guess maybe it isn't that at all...

[Unless...oh-] ..Oh.

...A lot of grass types are more like plants, right?

That does not mean they literally eat dirt.

[ ... wait. ]

Well, generally it does not. I just remembered that Larvitar does. But that is not a grass type.

Uh.

[Questions have been raised, answered, raised again,] Th...

Then maybe...uh.

...For pokemon that do..? Eat dirt..?

[He's dizzy. This is making him dizzy...]

Maybe? [ ah, Emporio seems... confused? surely more information might help? ] Some grass types can take in nutrients from the soil via their roots. Some of them can photosynthesize. But if they have a mouth they typically can and will eat food like the rest of us. ... Mostly. Can vary a lot between species.

[ that is, after all, kind of a recurring thing with pokemon. pokemon are many and varied.

beat. ]

A grass-type specialist would know more on the specifics.

[Emporio nods.

They may just never know, he guesses.]

...You weren't a specialist in types, right? ...I got the impression that you and Ingo were more...ummmm...

...Combat focused? I don't want to say generalized, that doesn't feel right...

We ran the Battle Subway. Plenty of challengers from all over. So we were, are familiar with what many of them are capable of and could do in a competitive or battle situation, yes.

[ Many of them, but not necessarily all of them. See the great ongoing A.B.A question mark for at least one example. ]

More in-depth, routine care and handling of? We were not specialists in any given type. Could not tell you specifically how to get a Lilligant's flower to bloom because neither of us has one as a partner but can tell you that it only happens for those who take verrrry good care of them. Generalized is not the wrong word for it. And fifteen Pokemon— [ actually, would it be 21 now, come to think of it, with the 6 (or more? there's those challenges he mentioned, but maybe the main six are the only ones staying with him on a more permanent basis?) Ingo met in Hisui? ] —is definitely more than the average person tends to live with on a regular basis.

[ Ingo thought that having separate rooms was a lot of space when they'd talked about it; try enough for their entire combined teams at mealtimes or when they have energy to burn. That's before starting on the Joltik, but it's fine. Joltik are pocket sized and don't need that much space in comparison. ]

[Emporio nods. He's trying to piece together a good picture from what he's already learned, and what he's learning now. He does remember Akari mentioning something about 'six pokemon' at least, so he thinks he can understand what Emmet means...but then again, he feels like that would make sense even just picturing them as animals.]

Right- like how you knew a bit about what Cubone are, but it took Akari before I had much to go on about what I should be able to learn.

[Even if that still ended in confusion. It's that darn TM move mucking it all up!]

Could be? I am Emmet. I do not know what your conversation with her was like. But younger Pokemon typically do not have very differentiated movepools yet, that comes with experience. You are prrrrobably not going to be causing earthquakes all that soon but you could eventually after being taught.

[ a half beat, before he offhandedly remarks: ]

Unless Egg Moves get involved. And ... actually. What you will be able to do. That will also vary a bit depending on what kind of Marowak you evolve into, if you want to evolve at all.

What...kind of..?

[Well, actually let's focus on the other matter first. Emporio shakes his head, and quickly finds himself frowning.] Akari explained a little about evolution, but I'm not really sure how I'll know enough to stop or even start that process, if no one can explain how I could actually tell...

...a..anyway. Mostly she kept trying to get me to buy clothes for myself, while talking about how it was strange that I didn't know 'mudslap'. I guess cubone normally manage that at a pretty early point... ...early level?

...I'm still unclear what a level is too...

It is a general way of abstracting out and quantifying the amount of growth and experience a Pokemon has accumulated. Newly hatched Pokemon start at level 5 ... or 1, depending. Goes up to 100. A lot of the more docile, commonplace Pokemon who prefer to live closer to towns and cities tend to be lower level than the ones found in more remote areas that keep to themselves. Pidoves, Patrats, Purrloins near some of the quietest towns might be levels 2, 3, 4. A nest of dragons on Victory Road, which is barred to anyone who does not have eight badges, maybe 40 or more. That sort of thing.

But there is no hard and fast rule. Anyway.

[ Emmet is relatively quiet when Ingo's there to do most of the yapping, but he sure can go on about Pokemon too when prompted, can't he? ]

She miiiiight have been generalizing. Mud-Slap is a common move, yep. The type of move younger or smaller Pokemon might learn to help get out of trouble without having to rely on being stronger. Like Sand Attack, or Growl, or Tail Whip. So a decent amount of ground types can often learn it at relatively low levels. But that does not mean all of them do. That does not mean that it is in the list of moves you'd naturally learn without having to be taught by someone or something else. Saying all ground types will know it instinctually is like saying all ghosts look like me.

As for evolving. You are not the first to be unsure whether you want to evolve. If you want to hold off. Then there are items for that. An Everstone will let you stay as you are even if you reach that threshold of growth where you would normally evolve. Unfortunately. I cannot tell you what it would feel like to be ready to evolve, or to go through it.

[ Since he kind of showed up here already evolved, and all. Also not entirely sure if there are Everstones in any of the shops here, but he's putting it out there as a possibility since he already mentioned them to Firepaw. ]

Huhhh...

...Well that definitely makes it even harder to tell where I'm supposed to be... [He can't help but mutter, shaking it off with a sigh. As Emmet said, she was probably generalizing a bit anyway.] I know I'm able to use Tail Whip at least. I guess...

...It just feels like there should be something. What happens if I have to fight ghost pokemon? I wasn't able to do...anything, when I went to rescue Smoochum. Not really anyway.

[Sure he slipped in to grab them, but he couldn't really fight at all.

He nods though- makes sense that no one would really have a clue how evolution feels, at least among everyone who came in with him.] ...Well.

I guess, if it happens, it happens. I mean... ...I wouldn't be able to stop growing up either, right?

donation drive omg...

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stares at fur piles post shed brush

there'll be enough to make a permanent substitute doll out of

me, my brother, my brother's concerning stand-in made of his own fur,

you WILL direct your attacks toward this instead of him

pastes googly eyes on it like,

he can leave it somewhere to take a message while he's elsewhere, perfect

NOBODY SUSPECTS A THING...

the resemblance is uncanny (it is just a pile of fur with googly eyes and a smile drawn in marker)

it falls apart and ingo is found in Mourning,

ehhh, he'll be fiiiiiiiine. surely emmet won't accidentally crash his own funeral

pullin a joseph joestar i see...

i understood that reference! (and basically nothing else about jojo-)

the nice thing abt jojos is the memes transcend understanding-

truly it and 'oh, you're approaching me?' transcend understanding

i hope more memes can reach this level of ascendance one day...

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