The Indigo League (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
indigo_league) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
the_plateau2025-10-02 08:27 am
indigo_league) wrote in the_plateau2025-10-02 08:27 am
Entry tags:
4th Wall Update + Dead In The Water OOC Info
First of all, a quick note re: the upcoming Fourth Wall. Votes for a date ended up being remarkably even. Like, remarkably.
As such, we’ve decided to split the difference between the two top votes and made the following decision: the Fourth Wall event will be run in late November. December will have no additional event. The next event after that will be in January, and the bi-monthly schedule will shift accordingly (so that Decembers are never an event month)!
And now, for the main feature…
The same company that owns the S.S. Anne has very recently announced the maiden voyage of their new luxury ship, the S.S. Aria! Like the S.S. Anne, it'll be making its first stops in Vermilion and Olivine, and then setting out to sea for a quick little one week jaunt around the Sevii Islands. On the docket: delicious food, beautiful ocean views, spa days, stops at each of the Sevii Islands for tours, gambling tables, nightly entertainment with dinner (who wants to see Tenn and his Zoroark Peller perform?)...
And your characters are invited! Or rather, there's quite a few ways to get onboard. Please feel free to pick whichever of these is appropriate to your character:
Unfortunately for the S.S. Aria, though... it's going to be struck by a compounding series of minor mistakes and bout of severe bad luck. While the vast majority of the trip goes just as expected, the ship encounters a bad storm and drifts slightly off course once it's heading back from the Sevii Islands. It's not terribly bad, no incoming collisions or anything...
Or it wouldn't be bad, if it didn't pass over the wreckage of another sunken ship and awaken a swarm of furious Dhelmise. Before anyone onboard has any time to notice, they'll attack the S.S. Aria, punching giant holes in the hull and breaking the engine, and the ship will be paralyzed in place… and slowly begin to sink. The Dhelmises' fury and the panic of the crew and passengers will attract yet more Ghost Pokemon, like Frillish and Jellicent, Dreepy and Drakloak, and Basculegion (and Basculin tagging along). These swarms will start attacking the ship as well, which only adds to the chaos!
From there, what happens is really up to players! Regardless of the outcome, all player characters and Pokemon will survive (rescued by NPCs if they truly couldn't do anything themselves), but whether the ship sinks or is saved, whether characters attract the attention of any NPCs with their efforts, or anything else... that all depends on what characters do!
PokeGears will still be working just fine, so people back in Johto and Kanto who didn't go sailing will hear the news quickly and can also choose to help. Of course, the ship is far enough off the coast that even flying will take some time, particularly in the storm. Volunteers with particularly experienced Water type Pokemon may be Teleported out by an NPC emergency response team consisting of Psychic trainers, but everyone else will be on their own as far as what to do. (Feel free to be creative here!)
The IC log will be posted on October 4th. To let us know what your characters did, please respond to THIS mod comment by Oct 25th with a summary of your character's actions (whether or not they were threaded out). OOCly, you may assume your character is safely back on land by Oct 16th if they were a passenger... but the S.S. Aria's fate will be announced shortly after the 25th!
Additionally, we’d like to thank Dolly for the plot suggestion which we adapted for this event!
As such, we’ve decided to split the difference between the two top votes and made the following decision: the Fourth Wall event will be run in late November. December will have no additional event. The next event after that will be in January, and the bi-monthly schedule will shift accordingly (so that Decembers are never an event month)!
And now, for the main feature…
Dead In The Water
The same company that owns the S.S. Anne has very recently announced the maiden voyage of their new luxury ship, the S.S. Aria! Like the S.S. Anne, it'll be making its first stops in Vermilion and Olivine, and then setting out to sea for a quick little one week jaunt around the Sevii Islands. On the docket: delicious food, beautiful ocean views, spa days, stops at each of the Sevii Islands for tours, gambling tables, nightly entertainment with dinner (who wants to see Tenn and his Zoroark Peller perform?)...
And your characters are invited! Or rather, there's quite a few ways to get onboard. Please feel free to pick whichever of these is appropriate to your character:
- If your character has defeated the Elite Four, they're getting an honorary invite for a fully covered trip right out of the gate, brought directly to them by the Pidgey Delivery Service. The S.S. Aria's organizers are hoping they'll take on an entertaining Pokemon battle or two while on board... but they won't actually enforce this for these esteemed personages.
- If your character has obtained at least four badges, an S.S. Aria recruiter may have caught them battling, been impressed, and offered them a free ride (including travel to Vermilion and Olivine if needed). But there's a caveat! They'll have to do some Pokemon battles on stage to entertain the paying guests, on at least a few nights. (These may be handwaved.)
- If your character isn't much of a battler... the S.S. Aria marketing team has set up booths in various cities where you can spin a wheel and (very rarely) win a free ride + transportation ticket! Perhaps your character just got lucky? (Or kept visiting different booths in disguise?)
- If your character has a good chunk of change lying around for whatever reason, perhaps they simply paid for their ticket!
- The S.S. Anne recruiters have also been recruiting the more usual staff for the ship. Your character may sign on to work for the week, in housekeeping, the kitchen, entertainment... of course, this means they won't have as relaxing a trip! (But they will at least get free transportation to either Vermilion or Olivine, if needed.)
- If your character is particularly sneaky, perhaps they stowed away...
- Or maybe your character is a Rocket? Team Rocket is looking with great interest at the richer VIP passengers with their fancy, well-bred Pokemon, and is willing to sponsor a handful of tickets (plus a getaway boat) for Rockets who want to take up a mission. But you better bring back enough stolen Pokemon to make the expense worth it! (Or cheat flagrantly at the gambling tables to pay the Team back!)
Unfortunately for the S.S. Aria, though... it's going to be struck by a compounding series of minor mistakes and bout of severe bad luck. While the vast majority of the trip goes just as expected, the ship encounters a bad storm and drifts slightly off course once it's heading back from the Sevii Islands. It's not terribly bad, no incoming collisions or anything...
Or it wouldn't be bad, if it didn't pass over the wreckage of another sunken ship and awaken a swarm of furious Dhelmise. Before anyone onboard has any time to notice, they'll attack the S.S. Aria, punching giant holes in the hull and breaking the engine, and the ship will be paralyzed in place… and slowly begin to sink. The Dhelmises' fury and the panic of the crew and passengers will attract yet more Ghost Pokemon, like Frillish and Jellicent, Dreepy and Drakloak, and Basculegion (and Basculin tagging along). These swarms will start attacking the ship as well, which only adds to the chaos!
From there, what happens is really up to players! Regardless of the outcome, all player characters and Pokemon will survive (rescued by NPCs if they truly couldn't do anything themselves), but whether the ship sinks or is saved, whether characters attract the attention of any NPCs with their efforts, or anything else... that all depends on what characters do!
PokeGears will still be working just fine, so people back in Johto and Kanto who didn't go sailing will hear the news quickly and can also choose to help. Of course, the ship is far enough off the coast that even flying will take some time, particularly in the storm. Volunteers with particularly experienced Water type Pokemon may be Teleported out by an NPC emergency response team consisting of Psychic trainers, but everyone else will be on their own as far as what to do. (Feel free to be creative here!)
The IC log will be posted on October 4th. To let us know what your characters did, please respond to THIS mod comment by Oct 25th with a summary of your character's actions (whether or not they were threaded out). OOCly, you may assume your character is safely back on land by Oct 16th if they were a passenger... but the S.S. Aria's fate will be announced shortly after the 25th!
Additionally, we’d like to thank Dolly for the plot suggestion which we adapted for this event!
Questions
Re: Questions
no subject
Dead In The Water Responses
no subject
Summary: As a Private ranked Rocket, Duo was able to secure himself a ticket with a lot of fast talking and persuasive words. He's good at gambling, actually, especially at cards. So, he's pretty sure that, even if he isn't able to snag some Pokémon (Look, they're rich VIPs, he doesn't care as much about stealing from them... the ones there on badges-earned tickets, though, he leaves alone) in return for his ticket, he'll at least be able to pay for it by using his card shark skills.
That all changes when stuff starts to go down, though. Duo is quick to tap into his emergency response skills. First is making sure that people get to safety, especially the non-Battler types, and anyone without Pokémon who can Surf. He decides to not take advantage of the chaos, as he's pretty sure he's gotten enough cash and Pokémon to satisfy his Rocket sponsors for the moment. When the wild Pokémon start attacking, he hangs in there as best he can with his team, determined to help defend what's left of the ship and save those who don't have battling Pokémon.
Re: Dead In The Water Responses
Summary: Keith learned from the last time of being on a boat. His usual choices often had weaknesses to water, so he changed it up this time. He's not prepared for ghosts, however. Honestly, he should always be prepared for ghosts. They could be anywhere. Keith, how have you not learned this?
Either way, he got invited because he's only one badge shy (Rising Badge is next) of making it to the Elite Four, and his recent return into the gym challenge got some rich battle fan excited. So, he ends up on the ship when things go south, of course. His emergency response training from the Garrison kicks in, of course, and he immediately steps up to take action. If someone else decides to take full charge of the situation, he'll defer, but if no one does, he'll lead the efforts if needed. He starts getting people to safety who need help or can't battle for themselves. He makes sure to find trainers with surfing Pokémon to help those who don't have them, and pairs them up. Once the attacking from the angry Pokémon starts, he'll do his best to fight them off.
no subject
Summary: With seven Jotho gym battle badges under his belt (just only Clair and the Rising Badge to go), Harry is given a free ticket to the S.S. Aria with the condition that he will have to participate in some of the battles as entertainment. This is his first time going on a cruise and, much to his surprise, he really finds it very enjoyable. Sure, he had to lose some battles to way better trainers and teams but he still did an amazing job and managed to amaze a lot of people in return. When he is not battling other Trainers, he is seen hanging out on the deck with his Pokémon and taking photos during the trip (both on the ship and at Sevii Islands).
But of course, everything goes horribly wrong as soon as the ghost Pokémon turned up and started a ruckus. Harry does have Olympe the Lapras and Roger the Pikachu (both have Surf in their moveset) with him thankfully so he could take some folks out of the ship with them as safely as possible. He also does his best to convince the ghost Pokémon to ‘not hurt everyone on the Aria pretty please’. Otherwise, he will resort to battling them with his team to defend the people who couldn’t battle on their own. He is pretty certain that trying to talk to angry wild Ghost Pokémon out of causing havoc would have a great chance of backfiring on his face hard but he is trying his best to minimize the damages.
no subject
Summary: Isabela has more than enough cash to buy herself a ticket to the S.S. Aria since this is going to be the first time she has been on cruise before (though not the first time she went on a boat or a ship as her trips to Sevii Islands would attest to that). For most of the trip, she spent her time hanging out with friends and her Pokémon, talking about plants to anyone who would like to listen, chilling out on the deck, having some causal battles here and there, and relaxing at the spa for fun. When they do arrive at Sevii Islands, she wastes no time exploring some of the places before she has to get back to the ship.
When the trip does take to a weirder turn with the angry wild Ghost Pokémon, Isabela jumps in to intervene with her Pokémon (and especially her Dhelmise Sancho since there is a big mean Dhelmise on board too) and she does everything she could to assist in the evacuation by keeping the wild Pokémon distracted with her team fighting back so the passengers and crew can escape.
no subject
Summary: Clearly Arceus had the foresight to not let Catrina win the wheel game as she was made to stay on land and not potentially cause an ecological disaster. Good news though! Catrina has her chewed up PokeGear and was fully prepared to give on video assistance to those onboard! At least the heart for this feral former amphibian now human was in the right place anyways.
It would be a mixed bag of somewhat useful advice and most definitely little knowledge on how humans work. It's not Catrina's fault evolution was upset with humanity for some unknown reason and got the short stick. Clearly humanity needs to do better and stop whining! Not that hard to hold your breath for two hours underwater. On and off during the 'helpful' advice calls, Catrina can be heard trying to bargain with the wild ghost Pokemon, either to buy folks some time to evacuate or maybe join Catrina's little feral circus. Both is a possibility...okay it's a certainty that it's both.
no subject
Summary: As someone who got all of Kanto's badges and most of Johto's, JoJo got scouted by an SS Aria recruiter and asked to do some battles in exchange for a luxury cruise. While Jotaro wasn't initially interested, mention of the Sevii Islands did remind Jotaro he hadn't seen his daughter in a while and figured this was a good excuse as any to pause his gym adventure and see her.
However, when stuff goes down, Jotaro springs into action. Jotaro has his new Lapras to surf people to safety and his Palafin to protect those who need to be afloat. Meanwhile, Jotaro himself will be using his other four Pokemon and extreme violence to battle the oncoming ghosts right up to the ship sinking. Admittedly, Jotaro is going to fight fiercer than ever, in a way that implies he's prepared to sacrifice himself to make sure the people that are there with him are safe. It shouldn't come to that, but one has to worry about the old man's mental state...
no subject
Summary: Emporio managed to get aboard via a costuming deal which, he was very quickly in over his head on incidentally, because the costume and makeup crew pulled out things like neon pink lashes and lipstick. Somehow the look ended up Very Victorian regardless, but as it stands- the idea was to match with Tulush, his shiny Omastar.
It's this very Omastar that therefore fights with him when the swarm first begins. Initially Emporio fights from the boat, but it quickly becomes apparent that the Ghost Pokemon seem to be drawn in his direction...though whether it's for battle or otherwise isn't really clear. Regardless, while it's not likely the entire swarm following (after all, he's ALSO on the boat that they're after), he soon takes to the water on Tulush's spiny spiny shell.
And yep, sure enough, Ghost Pokemon start breaking from the pack to follow after! Not necessarily to fight, either; the fact is, Ghost Pokemon just find Emporio really neat. Just another guy. Just another fella, another friend! Ultimately, Emporio spends a lot of time very deliberately channeling the energies of the Pied Piper of the seas to take the pressure off where possible, even if various news agencies are probably reporting on a weird resurgence of the Lord Helix following in the aftermath. It's fine. Probably.
no subject
Summary:
Given how surprisingly competent he was during the last fiasco (and how clearly miserable he's been afterwards), Bido was sent on the Team's dime to do a bit of high-seas piracy (and maybe, you know. Enjoy a nice vacation. Morale is important for a henchman.)
(Unfortunately from what I have heard, shipwrecks tend to be bad for morale.)
Bido does largely enjoy his cruise before disaster strikes! He's never seen the ocean before, much less sailed it, but it's always been a fascination of his, plus he gets to meet new people and bond with his freshly hatched baby boy (Feebas). The rest of his team get to scamper around and have fun in the sun while their Trainer teaches the new arrival how to count cards. After, teaching it how to count. In general.
When things DO get ugly it's mainly Bido's Pokémon who take the initiative and snap him out of his panic. His Helioptile has been soaking up sun the whole cruise, so despite its lack of battle experience, it's shockingly (😏) well-equipped to help stave off the sudden hordes of Frillish, Jellicent, Basculin and Basculegion. His Treecko (or possibly Grovyle, if it's evolved by this point) has the type advantage over those too... unfortunately, even with the half-Grass Dhelmise around, poor Poison-reliant Salandit is a little out of its depth on the battlefront.
Instead, it helps Bido run around rescuing Pokéballs (...and other valuables) left behind in people's cabins in the chaos of abandoning ship. There's only so much space in his bag, but he's definitely paying back the cost of his ticket and then some! The Trainers who left their teams behind will probably have to deal with the lifelong guilt of thinking they doomed all their guys to a cold purgatory but that isn't his problem!!! It legally can't be his problem he has so many problems already
Maybe the most direct and uncomplicated act of heroism comes from the baby boy itself, though. Because a 2 foot long fish that only knows Splash is Still, a Big Fuckin Fish. When Helioptile runs out of juice and faints, going overboard (both figuratively and not), Feebas doesn't hesitate a SECOND before diving in right after it. Which gives Bido a heart attack just about. But the babys are fine, and maybe this means everything else can also, maybe, someday be fine. We can hope.
Re: Dead In The Water Responses
He uses the first few days of the cruise to scope things out and get an idea of when the best openings for Pokémon theft are (as well as just enjoying the cruise, he is still a teen after all)... only for things to go to absolute shit when the boat gets attacked.
III, despite everything, is a good enough person. At the very least, he doesn't really want to condemn people to die in a shipwreck. So, he gets a two pronged plan going. Thunder Pot the Rotom and Vasa the Slowpoke will be helping to fight off the attacking ghosts while III himself, as well as Kallinikos the Vulpix rather hastily case the abandoned cabins for any Pokémon left behind. Once he's got what he can find, he'll rejoin the fighting with Kallinikos.
...He's doing his best here.