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

[offtracks]

[Ingo nods, still walking. He continues speaking fairly loudly; seems like it's just his natural volume.]

I have heard tell that one can find magma in the deepest parts of this cavern system! They must go quite deep indeed, or else some Pokemon are responsible. There is nothing like that in Mount Coronet, where I live, but I suppose it's simple enough to avoid.

[Just don't, you know. Walk into it or anything.]

Are you quite comfortable? Since becoming a fire-type, I find I do not feel heat as intensely.

[dripdrive]

[Well... Anasui will get used to it. Maybe. It is a nice change from straining to hear Emporio or Weather.]

"Funny. The climate and the vegetation above us wouldn't suggest we're somewhere volcanic. But I'm not exactly an expert on high islands."

[They'll probably feel the heat of the magma long before they step in it. Though Anasui's already uncomfortably warm.]

I'm used to the humidity but these bloody feathers aren't the most ventilating. I usually don't wear much - much less than this. [Like fishnets and panties sort of less.] I'll be fine. As long as we find the exit quickly or find water.

[offtracks]

I would not know anything about that! The mountain I live on is not a volcano...or, if it is, I do not think anyone knows about it.

[Perhaps there could be lava inside, and it's just never erupted yet? But Ingo doesn't know how volcanoes work, and even if that is possible he suspects it isn't true of Mount Coronet.]

We are near the coast. Some of the caverns are underwater, sometimes, though I am certain they would not have placed us in one of those!

[dripdrive]

[Anasui doesn't know how to tell if a mountain is a volcano or not either. He should ask Emporio sometime. Kid is filled with useless trivia]

... You lived on a mountain? Are you some sort of hermit? [Anasui, no.

The man pauses. He squints through the gloom of the cave and frowns, trying to identify a way out. This place was a maze...]

You can tell we're near the coast? ... Well... hopefully, we don't have to deal with drowning as well as burning up.

[offtracks]

It's the same sort of stone as the Oran caves, and those are certainly on the coast! Besides, I doubt that they would have carried us too far - we are both quite large, as far as guild members go!

[Most other new arrivals seem to be rather small first-stage Pokemon! Anasui does not strike Ingo that way, just given his general knowledge, though he doesn't exactly recognize the species...]

Anyhow - I am a Warden, not a hermit! The territory I am meant to oversee is in the lower part of the highlands.

[dripdrive]

Ah... That is true. We are big. [Anasui did notice that most Pokemon generally come up to his ankles. He could easily pick up two or three of his neighbours and put them on his back. How strange.] I wonder what decides what sort of Pokemon we became.

[Maybe it will help them figure out how to reverse this, or further unlock their powers, or something. Anasui just wants to know things-]

Whatever. [-Even if he doesn't seem like he wants to know.] Does being a warden help you navigate caverns you haven't been in before? I can only take hits for you, asides from attacking things.

[offtracks]

We have not been able to find any obvious common thread! There are reasons why I may have become this Pokemon, and it is the same for my brother, but we are from a world with Pokemon in it already - we have associations with them that the rest of you would not.

[Anyway, the reasoning isn't really along similar lines. His own case is benign-to-neutral; Emmet's seems downright cruel.]

And no, it does not help me navigate. It only means I have more wilderness experience than most. But please, do not feel like you must take hits on my behalf! I am fairly durable!

[dripdrive]

... I see. Maybe it really is random... or we 'fit' whatever Pokemon we turn into. Though what, if anything, I have in common with an ostrich, who fucking knows?

[Anasui lets out an annoyed sigh.] It's not because I want to. I'm just saying I can. I only really have figured out two moves - one of which lets me swap places with my teammate to take a hit. [Someone at the clinic called it 'Ally Switch' or something...] It's similar to a power I had back where I'm from.

[offtracks]

Ah! Are you very defensive, then?

[That's the only way he can see that being a viable strategy. That or immunities, but...]

You strike me as a psychic type, though I'm not entirely sure of your species. Emmet would know more - my memory is not what it was.

[dripdrive]

Less defensive, more that I can take a hit.

[Both as a human and a Pokemon, Anasui is a HP damage sponge.]

Yeah, Denenne called me an Espathra when I went to the clinic. Dunno what that means besides ostrich. But what do you mean by that? Hit with amnesia? Or are you just old?

[offtracks]

The former! I can often remember impersonal information more easily, such as Pokemon knowledge, but it does tend to take some reminders all the same...

[And admittedly, it is a little hit-and-miss even so.]

[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.

[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!

[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.]

[offtracks]

The former seems more likely to me. Wild Pokemon at home are not generally so aggressive! Certainly they may challenge a human who enters their territory, but this seems extreme! Besides, I have heard that some explorers in the forest have been temporarily frenzied, if they run into certain mushrooms.

[dripdrive]

Mmm... I heard that too. Maybe you're right. [Anasui huffs. There's a bigger mystery going on though, no doubt about it. He's used to not knowing what's going on but it's annoying not having any direction to chase so he could find out more.

Eh... but one thing at the time. Getting out of here. Anasui frowns and stops suddenly.]

The ground there. In front of you. Its colour is slightly off.

[offtracks]

Ah! You are quite correct!

[Ingo halts immediately, peering down at the ground. After a second of casting about, he finds a rock to kick onto it. Normally he'd test terrain with a stick, but...you know there's a number of reasons that's not gonna be happening!]

[dripdrive]

[At first, everything seems alright. Maybe the two of them were just paranoid... But then Anasui decides to copy Ingo and kick a second, smaller rock. The two stones are just heavy enough to trigger a trap and the ground partially collapses in front of them.

Anasui recoils as there's a rush of heat that floods the cavern. He scowls deeply as peers over the ledge.]

Lava pit trap. Fantastic.

[offtracks]

Bravo, well-spotted...

[Ingo rises onto his hind legs to peer at the trap. He's not sure he could make it across the gap - and, more importantly, there's no promise that the ground there is solid either.]

We had best turn about and find another route!

[dripdrive]

[Anasui could, possibly. He's fast and with a running start he could long jump across. However, since he can't fly, there's a chance of falling into the lava and Anasui doesn't want to roll that dice and risk his life.]

Hopefully, this isn't the only way forward. Otherwise, we'll need to figure out away across... [Anasui clicks his tongue irritably as he turns around to follow Ingo.] How do they expect anyone to navigate a maze this size in an hour?

[offtracks]

I wonder if their estimates are off! They likely don't account for our adjustments to these bodies and abilities.

[Would a real Pokemon - a regular one? - be able to navigate faster? Ingo turns about and starts back the way they came as he speaks, moving faster now. They know that this part is safe; they can simply hurry back to the last fork.]

[dripdrive]

Something to complain about. [Anasui wonders if the organisers of this maze will let him tear this place apart if they decide this maze is impractical.] But if that's the case, maybe there's a way to use these abilities to our advantage.

[Like their size and speed. Since they're both larger than a majority of Pokemon, they make it back to the fork quickly. Anasui frowns and looks around at the ground again.]

... They dragged us down here, right? Maybe there are drag marks that could clue us onto which way to go.

[offtracks]

Ah, that's a thought! I can try to scent for them as well!

[Anasui doesn't look like he'd have a particularly good sense of smell...Ingo lowers his head to the ground, still trotting quickly as he follows their own trails back.]