CAMP ALPHA!

[indigo_league]

As the hot and Nincada-chatter-filled summer afternoons come rolling into Johto good and proper, the region is abuzz with chatter of a different sort.

It’s been about a month and a half since the sightings of mighty Lugia and majestic Articuno during the S.S. Aqua’s prom cruise, but with the photos still circling like wildfire, the gossip mill still has plenty of fuel. The Aether Foundation’s largely kept its investigating quiet and down to earth, but the Legend Seekers on the other hand, are absolutely ignited. Theories are flying, network debates are raging, and new memberships are pouring in. If last summer was all about finding legendary humans, this one seems devoted to a new wave of enthusiasm for legends of the traditional sort.

With the once-obscure club now entering a new era of popularity, it was only a matter of time until its founders put their heads together and came up with an excuse for a get-together.

News of CAMP ALPH starts hitting the airwaves in early July-- the Legend Seekers’ very first by-seekers-for-seekers event in history!

THRILLS! CHILLS! (And depending on who you talk to, SHILLS!)

Despite a certain amount of trepidation from the local scientists, a mass campout/exploration is scheduled to take place at the Ruins of Alph, and EVERYONE’S invited!!

TIMELINE:

IC:

July 18th-20th: CAMPING! Characters ICly arrive throughout all three days.
11:30 PM on July 20th: Big finale bonfire and seance in the puzzle chamber.
July 21st: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

OOC:

July 18th: Camping log goes up!
July 20th 21st, whooops: More information added to this post, along with a Part 2 log.
July 24th: Win conditions are decided and results revealed!
July 27th: Official event conclusion is posted!

INFORMATION

SO HOW ARE PEOPLE FINDING OUT ABOUT THIS, AND HOW ARE THEY GETTING TO THE RUINS?

The buzz will have been going for a couple of weeks prior to the official beginning of the event, so most folks will have either heard about it by word of mouth or seen the flyers and TV spots around. It seems the Seekers actually have a budget for this, so they want people to know!

As for transportation, people will generally be responsible for getting there themselves! Since most trainers travel through Violet fairly early on in their journeys, the Legend Seekers are counting on the majority of attendees to be able to utilize the warp system to get there. If a character has never been to Violet City (whether they went towards Kanto instead, are very new, or just haven't ever been there for some reason), you may handwave that they managed to hitch a ride/flight with other travelers. There's a lot of people going!

Once characters reach Violet, they will find a stand festooned with banners and balloons, and a sign proclaiming "CAMP ALPH MEETUP" in bright blue letters. Here, characters will write their names in the guestbook and get handed a map, a flyer of camping safety tips, and plenty of pamphlets about the mystery-rich history of Ruins of Alph (including a certain percentage of information that may or may not be total nonsense...). When enough people to make a decent group have gathered, a guide will escort them on Pokemon-back along the route to the Ruins. If a character doesn’t have a large Pokemon of their own to ride, there will be Dodrio and Rapidash available for them to borrow!

If characters come by way of Ecruteak or Goldenrod (or just by flying right down to the Ruins), there will be another check in booth with all those same pamphlets at the entrance.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT ONCE WE GET THERE?

Honestly, it’s a surprisingly competent setup! The Legend Seekers may be a sort of goofy bunch, but they learned from LugiaQuest 2017 and have teamed up with the ruins' Rangers to procure weathertight tents, set up safe fire pits to cook food over, and create a main bonfire area where everyone can join together... it’s all on the level and by the book!

That being said, the food provided is fairly standard cookout fare. There’s plenty of trail mix to go around, as well as properly stored hamburgers and hot dogs, water bottles, materials for s'mores, and the quintessential canned beans to cook at the fire’s edge, but if you want something else you’ll have to bring it along yourself. Either bake those cookies at home or be prepared to rig up a dutch oven on site, guys!

While the food is standard, the equipment the Legend Seekers have on hand is nothing to sneer at. Audio recording devices seem standard on the hip holster of every member, laser grid scopes are duct taped to most flashlights, spirit boxes spit out all sorts of weird noises from the irregular radio signals the ruins already put out, and there are at least a few EMF meters floating around. There are also the aforementioned pamphlets detailing various tips and methods to draw out paranormal entities. Most are pretty banal and silly, but the amount of Ouija boards still fresh in their Poke-Hasbro boxes is definitely something to note. Just how far are the Legend Seekers willing to go to get their results, anyway...?

WHO ALL'S GONNA BE THERE?

Aside from all the player characters there to camp, there will be a number of NPCs milling around!

Your characters may encounter:

A variety of regular NPC trainers who took the Legend Seekers up on the invitation and are also there to camp. Feel free to make up trainers like this to use in your threads if you’d like! They can be any of the standard trainer classes from the games, albeit maybe with a higher concentration of PokeManiacs and Super Nerds than you'd usually encounter all at once...

The Legend Seekers themselves, of course! Since this is a big event, members from all over Johto and Kanto alike are here! Volunteers will be wearing T-shirts to identify them as “staff”, and they’ll be there to answer any questions people might have about the event or where things are happening... or tell all kinds of maybe-true maybe-not stories about their experiences or pet theories. The three founding members Trent, Greg, and Jackson will be all over the place to enthusiastically check out what people are doing and see if they’ve found anything weird. (Greg will be carrying a photo album of shots from the SS Aqua Articuno sighting and may or may not get kind of emotional if you ask him about it)

On the more... responsible adult authoritative end, the park rangers will thankfully also be there! The usual small contingent of rangers who work out of the station are all on duty to make sure that nobody starts a forest fire or damages the ruins, and they’ll be available to help with any medical emergencies-- if you break a leg or someone in your group gets lost, they’re the ones to call!

Several of the Ruin’s regular archeologists will be here to fuss over their pet research spots, occasionally get into heated debates with legend seekers who they disagree with, and tell anyone who will listen about the REAL, SCIENTIFIC stories they’re studying here.

Late on the second evening, two particularly important guests will arrive: Ecruteak City's Gym Leader Morty and his friend, the reclusive and eccentric Eusine!

Morty was interested to see what might happen out here, and has also decided to do what he can to chaperone the inevitable spirit summonings and ghost harrassing going on and be there to help calm anything that gets out of hand. He’s... also here to chaperone Eusine, who is not only here to look into rumored sightings of Suicune in the area (he's never one to pass up a chance to maybe come face to face with his favorite legendary, and the last time Suicune was out and about it was a little too hard to get close!) but also is apparently responsible for funding a lot of this shindig to begin with, and the two of them won’t be found far apart. If anyone wants to chat about ghosts (or Suicune!!), it probably won’t be hard to find these two.

AND WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO HERE?

Well, number one on the list is to do some traditional camping, of course! Campfire stories/songs and s'mores are probably the best way to spend an evening in the great outdoors. But that's everyday life for most trainers. The added benefit of camping in the Ruins of Alph is, of course, the ruins themselves! Even for people who’ve already visited them, there's never any shortage of mysterious glyphs and hidden secrets to find. The main exhibit areas have puzzles which can be solved by sliding panels around, and when completed, they drop you right into a large lower chamber where Unown are most often sighted! And boy, with all the visitors and funny machines around, they sure are curious about who you are and why you’re here. While not swarm levels, there is still an unusually high amount of Unown around, and no one says you can’t catch some while you’re here.

If you have questions about the ruins, the local Rangers and some of the Ruins’ archaeologists can answer them to the best of their ability. They've devoted their careers to learning about the ancient people who once lived here, after all-- all the normal materials available to tourists are still at everyone's disposal, and the researchers are even more eager to draw attention to the Ruins' fascinating history in the fact of all of the... exaggerations flying around from your fellow visitors.

In fact, most everyone here is open to chatting about not only the mysteries of the Ruins, but the mysteries surrounding Legendary Pokemon as well! (Especially Eusine. Eusine will use any and all opportunities to discuss Suicune with you. He is brimming with vibrant fanboy energy over this majestic water dog. Let him tell you about Suicune...!!) If you’re lucky, you might even meet someone who can tell you epic tales about Legendaries whose domain is outside of Johto and Kanto... but be warned there's no guarantee of accuracy. What was that about Xerneas loving fine Kalosian chocolate again?

While this is all fun and good, the main events -- aka the ones most of the Legend Seekers will be extra eager to get you to participate in -- will be the nightly attempts to summon the paranormal! Ghost EVP sessions, Spirit Box sessions in the main ruins chambers (or right by the tents, which can get old pretty fast when it's 10 PM and the """spirits""" are just spamming one word half a minute at a time), flashlight-lit walks around the area at night... these are all things happening once it gets pitch dark. If your idea of ghost summoning is more macabre... well, there may be one or two Hex Maniacs amongst the attendees who would be willing to lend you a canister of salt and their expertise? Be, uh, be safe guys!

SPIRIT SUMMONINGS? SERIOUSLY?

Oh don't worry, there's plenty of skeptics present too... but hey, even if you don't #Believe, it's still easy to get swept up in the excitement all around!

The big finale of the camping event will be a bona fide "seance" held down in the largest puzzle chamber on the night of the 21st, and that's the one to be at if you're gonna go to any of them. With the help of several Medium and Hex Maniac seekers, Trent, Greg, and Jackson will be attempting to contact the spirits of the ancient humans who once lived here only to ~mysteeeeeriously leave for mysteeeeerious reasons!~

Sounds great, right??!

Even Morty will be there!

Eusine may or may not be paying Morty to be there.

... SOMETHING IS GOING TO GO HORRIBLY WRONG, ISN'T IT.

Oh, of course. I mean have you seen a more potent combination of factors at play here?

WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN?

Check back on the 20th!

I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS!

Ask 'em here!

HEY, LOOK! IT'S THE 20th!

WHO'S THAT POKEMON?!

IT'S KARTANA!

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!

Well, the Seekers weren't entirely wrong about that particular chamber being a portal between worlds... it just happened to be a slightly more literal portal than they thought.

Did their efforts awaken something dormant that laid here under the ruins for eons? Or was this rip in reality only possible because of something more recent? Perhaps... both???

Add that to the many mysteries these old stones already hold.

WHAT DO WE DO?!

Whatever your character would do!

The immediate situation, of course, is a whole lot of noise and panic in a very cramped space-- so maybe the first thing they should focus on is getting outta there!

After that, it's up to you! Maybe your character will keep a cool head and try to figure out the best strategy to handle a bunch of sharp little origami dudes whizzing through the air like locusts. Maybe they'll barricade themselves in the Ranger's station. Maybe they'll grab a baseball bat and just start swingin'. Or maybe they'll flee into the woods screaming hysterically, never to return.

All responses are valid when confronted with eldritch abominations from beyond!

WHEN NIHILEGO APPEARED LAST YEAR, IT WAS LIKE LOOKING INTO THE TERRIBLE FACE OF GOD. WHAT WILL OUR CHARACTERS FEEL WHILE FACING KARTANA?

Like the Nihilego, the Kartana also induce an acute sense of wrongness that inspires unease at best and absolute panic at worst-- even if the character isn't normally afraid of odd creatures. Unlike the Nihilego, these guys are tiny and very fast so the terror might be a little more along the lines of getting chased by a wasp than the deep existential dread inspired by the alien jellyfish.



But one thing both creatures give off equally is an immense aura of power that will stand out even to trainers who are used to dealing with extremely strong Pokemon.

WHAT ABOUT OUR CHARACTERS' POKEMON?

The same, but even harder! Pokemon are often much more sensitive than people to situations in which something is terribly off, and will instinctively respond to the presence of Ultra Beasts with fear. This will not necessarily override their other instincts, though-- trained Pokemon will have a much easier time staying calm than the wild ones, so unless an individual team-member is particularly flighty and prone to panic (or just selfish), no one will need to worry about their Pokemon running off on them in fear.

... Unless, of course, the Pokemon in question happens to be one of the Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble who were recovered after that plane crash a few months ago.

It doesn't matter how much they love their new trainers... they are running.

ARE THEY IN DANGER?

Probably not mortal danger, but yes-- despite their small size, the Kartana are extremely sharp! Combined with their speed and strength, this means that not getting out of the way fast enough will result in some nasty cuts... and uh, your tents are probably going to be toast. Sorry about that.

At first, they'll mostly be doing near-misses as they whiz past, swooping at people and Pokemon erratically, but if they're attacked, they'll attack you right back. These guys are a little more aggressive than their jellyfish cousins.

MY CHARACTER IS A PSYCHIC AND/OR CAN COMMUNICATE WITH POKEMON-- WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THEY TRY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE KARTANA?

No clear communication can be had with the Kartana, even for those with that special knack for talking to their 'mons-- instead, any attempt will be met with a jarring deluge of alien sensations, screeching high-pitched static, and gibberish belonging to no known language. As a matter of fact, a lot of it sounds like those horrible spirit boxes that have been going off next to your tents at all hours, because that's what you'd like to hear more of right now! There's absolutely something there, but like incompatible frequencies, the human brain alone will not be able to make sense of it all.

However, one thing will be clear: whatever the Ultra Beasts are emitting, it is highly emotional, and not in a positive way.

The Nihilego were scared.

The Kartana are pissed.

WHAT IF MY CHARACTER POINTS THEIR POKEDEX AT THE KARTANA?

POKEMON UNKNOWN! PLEASE DOCUMENT AND REPORT TO PROFESSOR(S) OAK OR ELM AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE!

POKEMON UNKNOWN! PLEASE DOCUMENT AND REPORT TO PROFESSOR(S) OAK OR ELM AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE!

PO͉̯KE̻M̪̞̬ON ̙̭U̲͖̘̻N̦̳̬̦̫K̹͈͚N̟̲͍̗͓̟͕OW͓̭͈̠̝N̼͈͍̹͎̭!̬̣̗̞͓̤͙ ͍͇̰P͈͇̳L̬E͇̳A̞̗S̮̝͙E̤̹ ͚̝̩̹̤͖ͅD̘̪O̥͎̗̖͉̲̠C͖̫U̖̣̬͕̣M̩EN̠̲̬̜̼T͉͓ ̩̰̝̠̫͍̙A̪̠͇N͖̺̪D͉͚̹̝̮̙̝ ̟̦̖̰͇̺R̠̲͈E̯̯̫͇P̩͇̰̠̗O͎͇͎̭̙̫͇R͖̰T͉̭ ͍̰̻͉T͍̩͓ͅO̗̲̳̼ ͙͍͕̻̹̮P̪R̰̘̪̠̥͍̺O̗̤̥FE͓̙̪̮̜S͍̭͎̘̙S̻̙͉̩̮̟O̼͓̳̞̩R̳̣͙(̠͎̱S̜̖̮͕̙ͅ)̘ Ọ̜̹̙AK͙̻͇̙̩͎͎ ͔͉̱͈̣͚͇O̫̹R̰̭͈͙͍̫̙ ͍E̺̼̗LM̭͕͕͖ ̣̩̺̦̠͖A͍̦̖T̜̗͓ ̼̟̻̱̮̣Y̯O̝̞͔̬̹̪U͍̮ͅR͇̩̭̗͖ ̜̲͕E̟͈A͚̹̼̺̪̱̖R̬͙̫͔͚̩̝L̤̲̹̪͍Ḭ̞̗͚̘̥͎E̟̗͈͉̰S̲̣T̥͍ ̭̖̲̲̰̳C̭̥͕O̥̰̯N̜̤V̦̳Ḙ̞̭̳N̤̠I̞͉E̫̠͓̥͚N̗C̭̲̲̼ͅͅE̖̜͔͈!͈̳

P̷̷̤̦̣Ò̱̻̝̺K̷̖̼̹̹̥̬͡E̠͉̻̪̝̪͙̗͡M̨͍ͅÓ̧̢̻̗͍N̢̪̮͓̙̞͓ ͘͜҉͈U̧̘͎̲N̡̠̹͕ͅK̯̪̞̤Ǹ͖̻̟̝̗͞O͝͏̣̬̪͓̳̳ͅW̨̡͕̻̥͈͇̙̼N͉̼̝̳̻ͅ!͚͍ ̛͖͈̗̘̰̮̥͢P̻̙̞̻̫̺̮̺̝̀L̴̤̟̲̻̲̮É͏̜͙̗͕̙̝͈A̶̝͚͢S̶̴̡̫Ḛ̹̖̭̪̩̜̭ ̨̯͇̬͉̯ͅD̷̘̟̭̗̟͓͍̰͇͢O̷̜͖͙̖͎͓͝C̛̳̰͉̤͕͓̲̲͘͜Ư҉̖͈̹̙̻̀M̡̙̜̺̠͞E̡̢̥̺Ń̠͉T̲̜͇̣͢͝͠ ̲̰̳̟̯̹̙̀͞A͏̝̥̳̳̪̞͇̹N͕͍̹̮̫̕D̨̺̻͓̳͇̱̜̻͎͜ ̙̺͙͍̻̹́R̴̞̼͙͞E̞̣͉̝̮͎̥̼͠ͅP͡͏͈ͅO̢̟͕͢R҉̴̨͙Ț̸͙̤̦͉͕̳̱ ̴̸̙͕͍͉̭̼̺̰͡T͘͏̲̖̘͇̹̗ͅÒ̴̖ ̶͇̟͉̪͇͕͈̖Ṕ̣͕̖̻̼̙͉͘͠R͕͞O̗̦̕͟F̷͝͏̭̲̙̤̦͚̱͉̝E̜͖͡͡Ş̤̦̗̱̯͇̣̬̕S͈͔̳̙͖̮̠͟O̱ͅR̹͓̻̭(̷͈̲̻̮͖̲̻͙͝S̡͇͔̱͔̯̲̝̕)̫͙̼̺̣̀́͘ ̸͖̻͔̤͈̱͙̀ͅO̶͎̜̬̬̬͝A̧̺̹̩͕͡K̷̠̖̫͞ͅ ͖́͝Ò̜̻̪̹̬R̭̭ ̷͙̟̠͉̼̹E̠̯͈͈͔̞͈͎̥͟L͖͎̥͕̫̫͙͞M̨̦͙̞ ̴͖̝Ą̻̣̮͖̰̳̼̬̕ͅT̪̝̬̭̣ ͉̟̮͓̬̤̦̭͞Y̖̣̲̤͙O̘͖̼͇̠͖̤͓̦U͈̜̗̤̼̩̥͈͞ͅR̨̢҉̰̖̟̙͉̰͓ ̙̩͖͡E̴̛̲͍͎̮͚A̛̲̞̖̹̟Ŕ̰͝L̲͉̬͖̀͝I̤̰̰̘̞͓E̮̭̖̩̙̫̻̗͟͟͝S̷̹̲̤̞͍T̶̪̀ ̳̲̻̦̦͞͠C҉̺̝̞̘̯͖O̶̶̴̯̪͉̳̱̬̰͎͚N͚̻̙̬̥̖̰̜V̨̹͓̟̹͡E̪̕N̢̰͟I̴̲̳̭̟͍̤̙Ȩ̛̤̱͕͚̼̤N͔̺̳C̜̙͔̟̘̫͖E̶̠̭̱̫̤̱͎͍!̻̩̯


P̷̨̛̜͉͇̞͎̭̱̝̰̲͚̼̺ͥͨͥͮͧ̆ͥͮͯ̽̋͒̂ͩ͂̎́̚͘Ǫ̂̽ͪ̋̎̒͋̃͛̏ͮ̏̎̚̕͢͝҉̖̣̟̰̜̥̱̬K̷̨̂̏ͣ̒ͬͪ̄ͥ̓̋ͨ̓ͫ́͠͏͔̼̮̘̰̗͓̫͙̠Ḙ̲̱̤̝ͭ̈́̂̔̍̀͝M̨̢̨̹̳̦̫̹̹̺͇͉̝̟̱͖̺̦̱̯̟̌̀ͤ̎̿͛͂̓͢͡O̺̙͕̳̺͓̦̱̘̙̯̍̆͆̃̿̐͆́͊̈́͊ͣ̏ͩ͘͟͞N̲͈̫͊̾̇̈̏̐̇͌ͭ̾̉̍ͯ͋̀̊͟ ̢̧ͭͪ͒̊͌ͥ̓̏ͤ͐̑̉̑ͤͧ͑̚͏̜̦͔̻̻̘͈̥̼̲͖̬Ư͇̤̭̬̘͓͕̳͇̻͓̹̱̠̥̊ͯ͒ͧ̌̋͒̂ͬ̆N̴̡̪̟̱͈̝̱͖̪̥̲̫̜͍̦̟̮ͫͮ͋͌ͩ̈́͢͝͞K͖̩̦͍͚̻̟͔̣̗̳̋ͧ̃̿̔ͦͥ̐̓͋͢͢͝N̨̡̛̠̟͉̤̪͉̑̒̑̉ͪ̾ͩ̌ͬ̈́ͬ̑̔͝͠ͅÖ̺̣̣̻̗̺̻͙̬̘̲́̌ͬ̈͊ͤ̅ͧ͑ͯ̔ͥ̀̕͜͡͠W̶̷̡͙̲͍̺̬̱̰̃͑̉ͭ̅̆ͤ̎͊̍̏͋̓̓̆̚͠Ǹͪ̓̒̽ͧ̍̚҉̧̪̘͎̞̠̙̰̝̻̜͚͉͜ͅ!̵̨̫̺̦͕̺͉̳͋ͯ͌ͯ̉ͣͣ̉̓͝ ̧̹̘͙̦̘̺͔͖͉̄̐̆ͩ͋̀̓̕P̓̈̍҉̷̦̬̰̦̗͖̘̞͉͔̭͇̱͎̭͜͞ͅL̶̡̞̘̖͙͔̩̗͙̘̭̅ͮͫ̄͝͠͞Ȩ̸̵̺̫͕̱̫͈̠̦̜͈̲̗̼̙̏̂̏ͬ̒̽͟͝Aͫ͒̾ͬ̿̂ͯ͂̾̍̉̏ͦ̇̚҉̪͇̱͚̯̘͚̻̗̭͟͟͠Ş̨͕̱̼̰͖̽̍ͧͭ͆͗̎ͪ́̑ͣ́̈͊ͫ̅̌͝Eͣ̈̑̈̐̎̐ͫ̂ͫ̒͋ͯ́̑̇͆̏̌͏̵̸̖̱̩̼̦͜͠ ̷̢̪̬͉̊̂̃̍͑̒̍͊́̕D̛̫͖̜̣̤̯̲̘͎̙͈̞̼͇͍̖̠͍ͥ̏͛̔͑̾̿̇ͬͪͮͧͭ̐͐̈́̄͋͟͞ͅỚ̹̦̞̬ͭ̂ͭ̑̇ͩͤͣ̐ͪ̈́͟͡ͅCͥ̍͊̄ͭ̇̈̔͛ͩ͜͞͏̵̭͖̠̟̞̰̦̱̦̙U̷̧̱͉̯̜̩̝̠̯̼̖̱̣ͮͥ̄̓̋ͥ̒ͯͬ͟͜͝M̷̡͇̰̞͇̮͔̰͍̱̭̺̪̪̺̩͎̯̩͆̆̀ͩ̀̌̋̂ͩ͆ͬͤ̒͌ͯ͘ͅĘ̛͇̬̱̹͓̼͉̙͔̂́̄ͧ̐ͬ̆ͨͩ̀Ṅ̨̛̥̼̜͍̹̠͉̀̎͒̌̇̀͂͗̒̓̏̿̏̊͌͗͠͝͠T̟̟̹͖͚̞̊̀ͤ̒̀́͑͋ͧ͐̎͂͆̄̏ͪ̅̈́͢͞͡ ͛̊͌̔̓̉ͥͥ̀̐̚͘͜҉͓̪̲͙̙̮̻͖̘̥̖̥̺̖͕̬͘͜Ä̶̳̳͓̱̞͎́ͧ̃̈̒͛̀̕͢͠N͒ͪ̋ͪ͒̽̌̋̈́ͧͮ́ͯͪ͌̑͘҉̷̛̘̱͇̰̻̳̺̖͔́D̷͖͇̣̯̩̞̜̱̬͓̪̦̹̳̪͍̩ͦ͌̇̐ͤ̔̐͂̊̔͑́͜ ́͛ͪ̋̃͡҉͉͇̮̣͇̠̭͕̥͉̮͔͍̜͔̭̹̠R̡̙̣̺͍̞̳̦̱͓͉̞̻̣͎̉ͥ̿̆̈́̉̕͟ͅE̴̗̻͇͙̩͓͙̪̱̯̅ͤ͂ͨ̑́P̸̥̦̜̼͓͙ͨ̒̄̉ͤ͝Ơ̴̷̢̹̬̫̗̺͙̦̻̲͍̦̙̤̦͓͕͈̐́̂ͧ̃̅͊ͭ̍̈́ͧ̽̆ͤ̓̔̎̉͞Ŗͩͫ̍͌̾́́͠͏̻̖̝̬̦͍̣̻͉̯̘̪̞͇T̋ͥ̈́ͨͯ̋ͮ̍ͧ͑̿̂ͭ̎̂̔́҉̭͚̮̞̭͠ͅ ̴͍͔̙̱͓̞̭̱̖̫̭̻͍̭̯̤ͧ͂̒̽͠T̡̨̛͙̘͓͍̰͈̲͍̻̪͙͍̲͈͕̗̲̠ͩ̂́ͦ̃͂͊͞O̸̻̳͙͕̝̼̱̦̟̜̹̘͖̙͈͍̘̖̓̎̀̄̈̒ͧ̂̃͌ͥ̕͠ ̷̧̢̧̝͇̱̣̙͍̬̂̍ͦ̑͜P̷̽͐͑̀̆̔̈́ͣͯ͏̞̥̝̲͟R̛̛̮͎̟̱̖̦͓͙̫͚̳ͮͥ̓̒̍̍͗̂͆͛̌ͧͯͤ́ͥ͘͢Ǫ̢͔̱͎͙͎̪̘̲͈ͭ̆̍ͫ̋̎ͮ̈́̓͛̿̃͋ͤ̒̓̚͜ͅF̵̵̛̯͈̥͈̥͓͚̝̗̯́̍̄̓̎̾̐̈́ͦ̈́̀̚E̴̫̣̣̫̣̟͍̞̓͆̾̾̃̋̏̌ͫ̃ͩ͂͌͊̇̚S̷ͣ̀̄́̄ͧ҉̖̘͍̠̘̥̗͈̦͙͉̯̥͍ͅŠ̸͉̻̮̣̘̜̼̗̳͕̹͖̹̹̝̗͌̉̄̉͆ͮ̎ͪ̎̍͋̄ͩ͆̀ͅͅOͩ̋̋̂͌ͤ̀͑̑̏͡͏͍̘̲̱͔̞̞͈͍̩̲̟͙ͅͅR̓ͫͤ̄́ͭ̐̂҉̷̸̭̱͈̠̺̞̘̘͇͜(̷̗͔̬̥͖ͦ̉̽̋̓̈̓ͦ̄S̅ͤ͊ͫͣ̃͒̾̉ͨ̐ͯ҉̮̻͚̙̳̭̼͎̦̬͍̞̝͢ͅ)̡̨̛̭͇̟͛ͣ̾͌ͬ̄ͧ͂ ̵̞̩̮̗̤̮͒̾̔͊ͦ̽̉͟͞͠͠O̸̠̖̩̜͈͉̼̟̯̬̯̤̺͑̉̅͒̈͐̑ͨ̈͒ͧ̃̾͆ͣͥ̚̚͠ͅAͥ̌̌̏̓̋̉́̂̃͊̌͝͏͖̮̳̥̩͟͝͞K̾̎̍͐͋҉҉̸͈̣̭͔̝̝̰̩̖̠̙̺͞͝ ̸͙̱̝͓̫͖̜̗̝͆ͬ͋ͣ̌̓̽̐͋̾̿̕O̵̤̲̺͚̞͊̐͋ͯ̒ͫͣ̽̓̕͢͠͞R̷̨̤̰̱͉̜͚̯͔̹͍̘̻̞͖̳̣̃͗̏ͩ͛̓̇ͭͮ͂̏̄͋̉ ̸̸̤̬̟̩̲̫̽ͣͣ̋̾͒͡ͅẸ̦̗̝͈̜̝̖̟̘̳̅ͩͥ̓̆̆̈͟͠͡͞ͅL̓ͤͧͦ͗̐̎͐̅ͥ͗͆ͪ̇ͧ̾ͩ͏̥͕̗͍̳̣̱̘̥̕͢Ṃ̷̴̜͇̪̬̹͚͖̞͊̈ͪ͊ͭ̆͒̏͊ͦ̽ͬͥ̈̃̉̔̑̽̀ ̞̞͕̱̲͔̞̭̞̞̓ͭ̓̑ͣ̎̀̀͠͠͞ͅA͚̼̭͎̹̪͚̜̫̭̩̰̻͎ͧ̀͗͋ͣ̃̀ͪ̆ͦ̽͋̏́͜͜ͅT̵̶̞̲̘̩̱̝̯͉͂̈̓̎ͮ̒̒̉͐̾͋ͬ̃̍͗́́̚͞ ̧̓ͨ̎̋͗̀̿͋ͦ̂ͪ͆̆̿̄̊͗̉͑͞͏̴̛̱̝̖̟̯̗̝̜̗̼̜̗̣̻ͅY̴̯̙̥̤̠̗͇̭̪̭͕͊̂ͯ̇ͮ̎ͥ̎̈̾̀̃ͦ́̚O̾̒ͦ̉̌̑͏̶̨͓̳͓̥̠̟̯̫͔̟̥͔̣̗̀͘U̇̃̍͊͏̛͕̤̫̲͔̻͎̦͎̱̩̪͖͇ͅŔ̬̬̟̗͚̙ͯ̊̊ͭ̿͑͊͊̾̚͜ ̡̗͕̦͔͇͖͍̖̝̮̭̬̘̫͚̎̏̋̓͛̄ͥ̃ͬ̽͝E̡͙̗̲̪̺̣̩̫̣͍͚͕̙͖̣̲̘͛ͨ̌̅͒ͥ̓̍ͤͥ̌̅̍̅ͩͣ̏͞ͅǞ̵̶̯͈̱̼̝ͨͥ͊͗͗͛͆͛͑́̆͝͞ͅR̥̝̭̙̞͔̠̰̞̜͇͕̳̬̹̖̜͗ͣ͑ͫ̀̀͠ͅḺ̷͙̖̬͕̠̇ͤ͛̑̽̽̋ͤ̏ͤ̇͞Ḭ̷̟̟̪͉̺̎̽͐ͬͨ̓̆̂̆ͪ̒ͬ̃ͤͧ̚̕͞ͅͅÊ͌͋̇̂͋ͮͪ͒̈ͫ̐͐̒͒̔͏̰̞̠͍̮͎̹̦͚̦̟̟̕͢S̶̶̖̫̻̹̖͕̖ͦ͆̍̐ͦ̓͆̔̽ͪ͑̕ͅT̸̶̘̖͓͇̞̹̳͇̹͎͚̫͔̋̇͐̂͛͐̽̓͠ͅ ̧̧̝̫̞̘͙̞̣͕̻͔̬͚͍͈̞͙̩̻̲̉ͨ̾̽͊̿ͫ̂̚͢͠͠Ç̨̡͈̻̻̣̝̞̣̬̠̠̼̰̱͇͈̯̄̉̋̏ͧͤ̏̌̅ͪ̏͑̔ͤ͠ͅƠ̷̧̛̹̝͎͓̩̦̲͈̞̌̽̐ͫ̃ͦ̐̍̃́̈́̚N̷̗̗̟̮̩̗̦̪͈̤̖̤͖̓͂̈́ͭ̓̿ͣ̔̀Vͮͭ̅̏̀̇̍̆ͭ҉̨̧̮͔̜̮̥̯̰̮̩̘̞̰̱͚̹̼͕̻̞͞E̵̢̧̘͎̹̱̳̰͖̭̝̘̭͓͚̠͙̭̒ͪ̒̀̈ͣ͘͜ͅṈ̶̨̠͈͚̖̠̻̠͓͙͉͉̼̱̳̻̦̮͐̂̂̋I̸̍͒ͫ̇͐̅ͬ͆̑ͥ̍͏̢̺̩̤̼̤͖̝̥̩͈E̋́̎̍ͪ̕͞͏̫̟̺̠̰͇̳͖̩̳̜̤̜̞̗͖͍̮̙́́Ņ̭͎͙͚̥̱̠̱̲͇̣̰ͣͪͯ̀͘͡C̫͔̻̹͕̹̠͓͉̲͔̬̦͆̌̓̓̿̂̽͋̋ͪ͒̊̀̎ͣͩ̒̊̉͝E̶͆͂͂̍̋̓͗͂̉͑͡҉̠͈͈̖̤͕̬͈̳͇́!̶͙̞͚̪̳̆ͫͫ͐̈ͧ̒͞

LAST TIME, TRYING TO CALM THE NIHILEGO DOWN WAS PRETTY SUCCESSFUL... CAN WE DO THE SAME WITH THE KARTANA?

The Nihilego were comparatively slow and gentle... these guys are sort of on crack, and it's hard to have any significant interaction with them that isn't either getting out of the way or attempting to redirect them via blunt force.

CAN WE CATCH KARTANA?

No, unfortunately.

The Kartana seem extremely sensitive to the presence of Pokeballs of all kinds, and will zip out of the way of any thrown, or even send one spinning back at you-- watch out, because getting beaned in the head with your own Pokeball returned at high velocity is probably one of the more embarrassing ways to get a concussion.

CAN WE BATTLE KARTANA?

Absolutely-- but it will be very difficult. Not only are they so fast and numerous that it's hard to really launch an attack, but they're also just freaking jacked.

The one for-sure, no-room-for-debate, immediately-verifiable fact about these things is that they are horrifyingly strong. Even Level 100 Pokemon will find that their strength is being matched.

WHAT IF MY CHARACTER HAS A TYPE: NULL OR SILPHALLY?

Type: Null and Silphally are the one dual exception to the rule-- while they'll have as tough a time as anything else actually catching up to these speedy little menaces, any Kartana confronted with one will pretty much IMMEDIATELY turn tail and flee. Like the Nihilego before them, they just do not want to be anywhere near the science doggos-- and like last time, characters can absolutely use this to their advantage as they navigate the swarm and help each other fend off the Ultra Beasts.

SO DOES THAT MEAN EVERYONE WITHOUT HIGH-LEVELED POKEMON OR A NULL/SILPHALLY IS JUST SCREWED?

Quite the opposite!

Attacking the Kartana with brute force alone will be an exercise in frustration, even for people whose teams are stacked with Level 100's. Instead, strategizing and using carefully-directed attacks to shift the flow of battle rather than just damage the opponents will aid anyone who tries it, even the Youngster who only brought their level 10 Pidgey. Fight smart, not hard! Look out for each other! Try to minimize the destruction to the Ruins and your fellow campers!

And... maybe try and protect those Unown? Jeez, they're getting clobbered...

OH SHOOT, WHAT ARE THE UNOWN DOING?

First off, the Ruins' many friendly Unown are as distressed by this whole situation as the visitors are... and are coming out of the woodwork (stonework?) en masse to protect their home and friends. But anyone who's interacted with Unown before know that while they certainly do have a hidden power, they're shy and gentle and not particularly battle-oriented on average. Which means that the air has become a veritable battlefield between Unown and UB, and the Unown are losing.

Most of them will swirl around trainers and Pokemon in an attempt to guide them to safety, but others are shooting high in the air above the ruins, seemingly attempting formations... only to get knocked down quickly by the angry origami swarm.

Maybe what they need is some help...

OHO! THAT SOUNDS LIKE A WIN CONDITION!

It sure does!

If at least ten characters on the Camp Alpha Part 2 log, in groups or alone, directly act to buy the Unown time to do whatever it is they're doing (whether by strategically attacking, distracting, or redirecting the Kartana) by July 24th and report here, the win condition for this event will be unlocked!

SO WHAT'S THE UPDATED ITINERARY FOR THIS EVENT?

Win condition or no, this whole debacle will last about 24 hours, with conclusion late on the night of July 21st. But oocly, we're giving everyone a few extra days to get their threads started on the log before the win conditions are counted up, and will be posting the official event conclusion at the end of the week. It's been a busy summer for folks and we don't want anyone to feel rushed through this event even if it takes place in a short span of time ICly!

WIN CONDITION OR NOT, THIS IS TOO SPOOKY FOR ME! WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PART OF THE EVENT?

Good news!

The Rangers, while as surprised as anyone else, are experts in a crisis, and will immediately organize and lead fleeing campers on safe evacuation routes away from the Ruins.

The Kartana will not follow anyone past a certain distance before turning around, so for any character who feels like this has just gotten a little too intense, they can skedaddle back to Violet City and leave the Ultra-Beast wrangling to the rest!

And of course, please feel free to continue threading on the Part 1 log as long as you like-- your characters still had several days of uninterrupted Camp Time (tm) before disaster struck!

I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS!

No worries, keep on asking 'em below!