004 ⟡ JULY TEST DRIVE

[bayhelpers]

⋆✩ test drive 04 ✩⋆

The day begins like any other.

Routines, eventful scenes, and boring errands — no matter what you were in the middle of, there's a moment where everything begins to feel wrong. A searing pain tears through your body, so intense that it feels like every nerve has been struck at once. Muscles spasm, joints scream in protest, and as you double over, you find yourself clawing or clinging at anything within your reach. As your attempts to maintain composure fail you, your bones begin to twist with an agonizing force, the pain rising in a crescendo until it becomes unbearable to even breathe. Then, as quickly as it began, everything stops.

For a single, terrifying moment, there's nothing. No sight, no sound, no touch, no taste, no smell — just the weight of nothingness swallowing you whole. The absence of sensation might even be worse than the pain, leaving you adrift in a void you can't escape. Hopelessness threatens every fiber of your existence, and try as you might to fight it, your darkest thoughts begin to surface, flooding your mind in an onslaught of suffocating feelings and ideas.

In the darkness, you hear a voice.

It's faint, a gentle flashing of something warm along the edges of your mind, like sunlight itself. It's a voice, but you can't identify who or what it comes from, how it sounds, or what it means — still, you know it's directed at you. Something tugs at your heart, a powerful ache that throbs once and ripples outwards. You can feel the aches again, like fresh sores throughout your body. You feel off, like something isn't quite right, like you're not where you should be, or who you should be. But the voice continues, whispered just beyond your understanding. The sound is warm like hope, and it wraps around you, distant yet intent, before you wake up.

i. arrivals

STRANDED ON A BEACH

Beneath your body is wet, thick, sand. In the early dawn hours, one would think all color drained from the world. Eyes open to the shadows of distant buildings, with massive cliffs looming ever closely in the faint twinkling of sunlight. Water, for those particularly unlucky, laps at the body to leave a persisting chill — sinking into bones that no longer feel familiar.

It’s impossible to tell how you got here. All you have is those last moments before it felt as if your entire being was being broken down and stretched into this uncanny shape, this thing that doesn’t feel like you. Even the ground itself seems to agree. It shifts, and rumbles. Gathers into mounds, rising up and over with the sounds of dying gasps. But wait.

That isn’t normal sand. That sand is alive. That sand, gathering into shades of pink, of blue, of green, it all forms faces before your very eyes. An enemy, you may think? A monster? A threat?

“OhhhHHhHH…What has happened to us..?”

Or perhaps, someone in the same predicament as you?

“Someone…Someone get Mightyena!!”

Albeit someone who clearly knows more than you do here, on this beach that slowly regains its color.

CASTLES OF SAND

⟡ Severity of dysphoria and disorientation symptoms are entirely up to the player, as is the duration of time these symptoms last.

⟡ The Sandygasts on the beach of Bottlecap Bay are in fact residents of the town by proxy. They are at their most active during the summer, and can thus act as helpful NPCs to help player characters toward the town.

⟡ These Sandygasts are very strange in color. The colors they appear in include — Pink with lilac stones and a blue shovel; Moss green with brown stones and a black shovel; Deep red with black stones and a cyan shovel; Dark purple with white stones and a black shovel. They don’t know how their colors changed either, but they certainly remember being normal Sandygast before everyone arrived.

ii. see the sunset

COPPERAJAH-TONE

With newly arrived Pokemon settling in from the beach, the town quickly moves to adjust existing plans until they’re certain the shores are clear. It only takes a few days before they’re back on schedule however, and every Pokemon including those same arrivals will find themselves with an open invitation to the shoreline.

With the recent successes of Bottlecap Bay, public opinion is at an all time high, which is reflected in the activities pulled together in response. Through much of the Summer season, the beach of Bottlecap Bay becomes a literal hotspot of activity. Beach activities that many will find familiar take part at all hours, with equipment set up at small stands for public use.

A volleyball net is a particularly popular feature of the beach, with a particularly spooky form of gameplay spotted in the evening hours where Ghost types reign. Multicolored buoys float out to section off a safe zone of the water for Pokemon capable of it to swim at their leisure as well, with Bottlecap’s very own Dondozo and Tatsugiri acting as lifeguard.

The most popular game by far however is sand sculpting. Tools of wood and stone can be gathered up to shape the sand into any number of shapes, and some Pokemon may even offer small rewards to those who make especially impressive ones.

Be sure not to accidentally use the sand of one of those colorful Sandygasts however.

Beach Day Breakdown

⟡ During the entirety of July, beginning on the 15th, the beach is open for public summer games.

⟡ While examples listed above are available, Players are encouraged to include their own Beach traditions within reason. If you are unsure, please ask under questions.

⟡ Beach fun will happen during the day and night alike. During the day, the beach is far more active; Pokemon are livelier, and enjoy much more cheerful activities. At night, while many Ghost and Dark type Pokemon enjoy the games, there are also often small campfires where quieter traditions such as apple roasting and scary stories happen.

⟡ Alcohol may be present at the campfires of the evening. Please be sure to mark threads including alcohol with a warning, and remember that characters under the age of 21 may not partake.

iii. mentorship methods

BUDDY SYSTEMS

A whole host of new Pokemon arriving is no longer a fully unanticipated scenario for Bottlecap Bay. While the town has persistently done their best to seek a solution to so many displaced new citizens, they have also come to recognize a growing pattern in their arrival. Every other month, these new Pokemon have appeared.

Therefore, the combination of their recent peace and the local nature of these particular arrivals has given them an easy option for guiding these lost new souls. Rather than any of the Guild leaders seeking out ideal Pokemon among their ranks, those who have arrived from other worlds themselves are tasked with a new assignment. Help their fellow interlopers!

At minimum, each Guild Leader suggests a few basics to cover, but the methods with which they do this is ultimately left up to them. A tour of the local sights? A chance to test their mettle with brand new powers? Or perhaps simply a listening ear from one who understands the strangeness of these new bodies. The world is truly their Cloyster.

A MENTOR MINDSET

⟡ Each of the Guild Leaders will offer to their existing members few points they consider most vital to teach to the newcomers. Mightyena focuses on making sure the new Pokemon have a place to sleep, and insists that they be taught how best to fight. Ribombee emphasizes a need to show the necessary work ethic of the community, so that an understanding of how much they need to work together is understood. Polteageist in turn, gives a list of necessary establishments to familiarize themselves with, beginning with the Clinic, Archives, and Questboard.

⟡ During much of the month, various Pokemon maintaining stores and eateries within Bottlecap Bay will be offering their own helpful advice to guides and their charges. This trivia is minor, but typically focused on what the food is like, or what the benefits of certain articles of clothing might be.

⟡ Any Pokemon who helps another newcomer will earn 50 points for their Guild! As well, newly arrived Pokemon who put up with the guidance will receive a voucher for a custom, non-magical accessory, such as a hat or scarf.

ADVANCE TRAINING

After considerable research and effort, Polteageist has once again teamed up with Dr. Denne to craft a series of ever popular escape rooms, hinting that participating in them will be very useful in the future. Joining the effort is none other than Cheri and Oran's own Ribombee and Mightyena as well, making it a truly unified project. With so much investment going into these exercises, it's no wonder that every Pokemon from another world, new and old alike, is offered the chance to try at least one when they have the chance.

THE NORTH

⟡ Located just between the Canopy and the beginnings of Bottlecap Bay’s southern coastline, the lush greenery of the Northern Forest's entry has been sectioned off into a training ground. Pokemon are grouped into random pairs, and tasked with finding the end of a hand-crafted maze within this early area of woods.

⟡ While many threats within the Northern Forest are well documented, some may still come as a surprise. Wild Pokemon such as Bug and Grass Types may still be encountered, as well as mushrooms releasing rage spores.

⟡ The Forest itself is also a threat — though it seems to understand these Pokemon mean no true harm, vines and plants will move when not directly looked at, creating added navigational challenges.

⟡ Pokemon who show no signs of escaping on their own after a certain point will find themselves retrieved by a local Grafaiai or Mankey, as enlisted by Bottlecap Bay.

THE MIDDLE

⟡ Located a good distance down the southern coastline of the Bay, a section of the Middle Forest's entry has been carefully sectioned for a training ground. Supervised in part by a recently recruited Bloodmoon Usaluna, Pokemon will be grouped into random pairs, and tasked with finding the end of a hand-crafted maze in this early area of woods.

⟡ Due to the presence of heavy supernatural fog, Pokemon participants are warned heavily in advance of what to expect. The fog is known to literally reach into others, creating visions and hallucinations, as well as a deep loss of identity the longer they're exposed.

⟡ The end of the maze does not lead out of the Middle Forest. Instead, Pokemon must find their way back from the uniquely marked bone pile; because of the fog, this return is far shorter than the journey in.

⟡ Pokemon who spend too long within the Middle Forest while showing no signs of successfully escaping will quickly be retrieved by Ursaluna, whose Mind's Eye grants relative immunity to the Fog's effects.

THE SOUTH

⟡ Far to the south of Bottlecap Bay, beyond the farthest stretch of wooded coastline, the Southern Forest lies shrouded in darkness. While there is no longer a thick haze of fog, its unique dangers mean that numerous Ghost Pokemon have been recruited to monitor a simple challenge within the woods. Specifically, two Pokemon will be paired at random, led a short ways in, and told to find their way out.

⟡ Due to the mechanics of the Southern Forest, nothing within this 'maze' has been crafted personally. Pokemon are sufficiently disoriented by the forest's own ability to alter its surroundings when none are looking directly at them, as well as the significant time dilation that occurs here.

⟡ Local Ghosts who have entered an agreement with Bottlecap's recently recruited Spiritomb will be available as both obstacles, and guides. As obstacles, they will intentionally lead Pokemon astray by joining the team in disguise, playing on the Forest's ability to create inconsistencies in memory and experience both.

⟡ Any Pokemon who spend too long within the Southern Forest with no signs of being able to return on their own will be led home by Ghost Pokemon acting as guides. These Pokemon take care to not shapeshift into anything other than themselves.

✩ OOC NOTES.

⟡ TDM CWS: Disorientation, Dissociation (Escape Room Prompts), Body Dysmorphia, Possible Pokemon Injury

⟡ TDMs are game canon and act as events for the month they are posted.

⟡ New characters can link to their top level beneath the NEWBIE DIRECTORY

⟡ All new arrivals are not assigned to any one guild. However, they may assume themselves to share rooms within any one of them during the course of the TDM.

⟡ Remember that at least one thread for your application must come from the TDM! There is no comment minimum, but we will be looking for engagement, as well as for players and characters who take the time to delve into things like character thoughts, emotions, morality, and other deep themes. Take this time to engage with the setting as you would in game!

⟡ As a reminder, reserves and applications are permanently opened. Please see their respective pages for details on processing time.

⟡ Have any questions related to the TDM? Ask 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

i

[fromsprouts]

[The Lucario lifts his head to blink blearily at Ingo. While he looks mostly like a standard example of his species, there's a small scar above his left eye, where the black mask-like part of his face fur meets the blue above it. Where an eyebrow would be on a human.]

Certain...what?

[The creature speaking to him at least sounds some sort of friendly. That's nice, given how he feels...heavy right now. It's a little like the feeling one has after waking up from anesthesia, and your tongue is thick in your mouth and not entirely behaving enough for words, but spread throughout his whole body.

Like it's not really wholly his. Which is close enough to true.]

[offtracks]

Pokemon! Those are the creatures that we have all become upon coming here! But I knew about them before that, so I have a little more information than most. You are a Lucario, for instance.

[ Lucky, really. The leg shapes are different, but at least that's still a bipedal species! He tilts his head a little. The arrivals from the forest last time had been rather off, which is to be expected when leaving the forest, but this fellow does not seem too much better... ]

Are you alright? Can you stand?

[fromsprouts]

[Umemiya goes to hold up a finger to request a moment to figure that out, but finger doesn't seem to be happening, because paw.

...which is ridiculous, and confusing, but sure does clarify what Ingo meant by 'creatures that we have all become'.]

...the fuck. Gimme a moment.

[But. With a little effort toward coordinating his new limbs at their new lengths and strengths, he manages, in succession:
- rolling over onto his belly
- levering to all fours
- pushing to kneeling
- working his way to his feet...
- and falling over backwards because he wasn't accounting for his tail and his new digitigrade feet, in balancing while standing.]

[offtracks]

[ Ingo watches all of this without any apparent reaction, at least until he falls. ]

Are you alright?

[fromsprouts]

Yeah. Nothing bruised but my dignity. The sand is pretty soft. Lemme try that again.

[Slower. More carefully. Even when he manages standing properly, it feels like he's tiptoeing or something. But he does end up standing, offering Ingo something of a smile (though the shape of that feels different, too, with a snout and ears that perk to emphasize the expression).]

Feels weird. So...what's going on, exactly?

[offtracks]

Well, we have all been brought to this world from our own and given the form of various Pokemon. But the whys and hows of that are rather more opaque...

[ And how are they to figure it out, even? But that's a lot for a new arrival. ]

In any case, the Pokemon who live here are giving us shelter now!

[fromsprouts]

Well, that's nice of them, I suppose.

[At least a place to stay won't be on his list of concerns, as he settles into whatever's going on here.]

You said you know what sort of...Pokemon...I am? Can you tell me more?

[offtracks]

I do!

[ He's quite pleased that it's a very familiar species! ]

You are a Lucario! They are fighting and steel-type Pokemon! Additionally, they're quite skilled in the use of "aura" - they can see the auras of other beings, supposedly, and also harness their own aura for attacks!

[fromsprouts]

Fighting...that part makes sense, at least.

[The aura part does too, more than he wants to admit. It's not like he was some sort of esper before, able to read literal glowing auras around opponents, or to manifest his own. But...he's had a sense of other fighters, and an ability to go from the warm sunny gardener everyone loves to the Top of Bofurin with all the power that entails in seconds. To step into his role and take up that aspect of himself, or to hide it as needed.]

There's other types?

[offtracks]

Oh, yes, sixteen others! I am a fire and ghost type, for example!

[ Though without the flames around his neck ignited, it's sort of hard to tell why that might be. ]

me searching for a JRPG not represented on the taken list...

[fromsprouts]

...and I'm guessing certain types counter others. Like the weapons triangle in Fire Emblem.

[Except multiplicatively more complex, with eighteen different types.]

[offtracks]

They...do...

[ He visibly does not understand the Fire Emblem comparison though! ]

[fromsprouts]

I guess I'll need to learn how they interact at some point. Erm, please don't try to teach me fully right now. I'm still finding my footing, quite literally.

[In fact, now might be the time to attempt some cautious steps on the sand.]

[offtracks]

Very well! It is probably best to begin with how they may affect you, personally. But I doubt that you will be attempting to battle for a little while yet - best to get used to your new body first.

[ Unfortunately, there's little advice he can offer there. He doesn't even walk on two legs much anymore. ]

[fromsprouts]

[Umemiya nods, and then reaches up to grab at one of the tendrils on the back of his head.]

These things are going to bug me every time I move, I think.

[offtracks]

I am not sure what those are! Maybe something to do with the aura powers? But that is a question for a professor!

[fromsprouts]

Are there any professors around here?

[Can Pokemon even be professors?]

[offtracks]

Well, no - I knew one back home, but I do not think they use the term here. There are certainly local scholars, though! The Lum guild is primarily scholars and record-keepers.

[fromsprouts]

Well, I know that's probably not the guild for me, then.

[There's a hint of self-mocking humor there. Not hard and acerbic, beating himself up for not being scholarly, but almost chipper about his own weaknesses.]

[offtracks]

Nor I! I am in the Oran guild. One of the leaders will likely reach out to you, once they have decided you are a good fit - but it is not necessary to join a guild. It is simply easier to become established that way.

[ Ingo probably could've gotten a job or something, but he would have done work similar to the Oran Berries anyway. ]

[fromsprouts]

Is there any reason someone couldn't create a fourth guild, run in a manner different from the others?

[offtracks]

......I don't know that it has ever been suggested.

[ He's literally never thought about that before? Really, he can't see why one would go to the trouble. Certainly, it seems like it would be a lot of trouble. ]

I suppose one would need people, and a place for them to live. And the ability to provide for them in the manner of guilds.

[fromsprouts]

Yeah. That sounds like an absolutely absurd chore to set up for oneself.

[His ears are perked, though, and his expression doesn't not approximate a smile.]

[offtracks]

It does!

[ It seems to take Ingo a second to pick up on all the implications, but: ]

...what sort of guild would you want to create?

[fromsprouts]

Honestly, I'm not sure yet. I think I'm going to need to spend some time in one of the existing guilds, seeing what this place actually needs, before I can begin the grueling process of imposing my will on it.

[There's a heavy dose of self-mockery in that last bit.]