THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

[indigo_league]

Get your "Celebelieve" signs out, trainers, because it's about to get legendary.

The massive heat-wave and subsequent thunderstorm at the end of July was apparently only a prelude-- as August progresses, it's become increasingly obvious that Entei, Raikou, and Suicune are on the loose, galloping all over kingdom come and bringing outrageous weather conditions with them, seemingly not even caring whether or not they're seen!

You don't have to be a Legend Seeker to know that this is wildly unusual for Legendary Pokemon. So yeesh, what's the deal? And how do we get them to stop?

That'll be up to the trainers to discover over the course of our August Event: The Dog Days of Summer!


TIMELINE:

August 7th: After increasingly bizarre fluctuations in weather, a newscast sheds some light on what's been going on: footage of the three Legendary Beasts themselves directly causing the chaos, seemingly at odds with each other. Not necessarily openly tussling, but definitely getting territorial. After the seventh, both the severity of the weather and the number of sightings increase. Maybe your character will even have a run-in with one of the Beasts themselves!

August 17th-23rd: Another newscast (along with a log) goes out with a development on the story-- Entei and Raikou have seemingly had enough of each other's shenanigans, and are now on two separate peaks towards the top of Mt. Mortar, roaring at each other loudly enough to be heard all across northern Johto!! Meanwhile Suicune, the scamp, is taking advantage of its siblings' argument and making absolutely everything everywhere else disgustingly moist. M O I S T.
Fortunately, new information is on the rise as well. It seems that both the Bell Tower monks and the Legend Seekers have made some discoveries they want to share... At this time, characters may choose to team up with one of three different groups tackling the problem, with a simple participation requirement. Signups will be open until the 24th!

August 23rd: Scrolls and caverns and fires, oh my! The secret to summoning Ho-Oh is discovered at the Bell Tower, Lugia's hiding place is stumbled across, and an immense forest fire has broken out at Mt. Mortar!

August 25th-30th: At long last, Ho-Oh and Lugia appear to hear everyone's Concerns.

August 31st: ???? WILL OUR HEROES HAVE PREVAILED? OR IS EVERYONE DOOMED TO GO TO SLEEP EVERY NIGHT LISTENING TO TWO LEGENDARIES YELL AT EACH OTHER FROM ACROSS A MOUNTAIN RANGE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE?? CHECK OUT THE FINAL NEWS BROADCAST AND CONCLUDING POST TO FIND OUT!

OTHER INFO:

CAN MY CHARACTER SEE/INTERACT WITH THE BEASTS BETWEEN THE 7th AND THE 17th?

Yes! The Beasts are normally very reclusive, but from the seventh onwards, it's becoming increasingly clear that they just do not care about being spotted by humans. In fact, you may very well step out of your tent in the morning to find a miniature thunderstorm demolishing all your camping supplies, and Raikou sitting smugly just out of range and giving you a look that says 'Yeah, what you gonna do about it huh?'

That said, they're still very much wild, and very much Legendaries, so anyone attempting to touch or battle with them will get a disdainful glare and quite possibly a cloud of dust in their face as the Beast speeds off to cause weather-related damage somewhere else. Trained Pokemon might even be reluctant to go face to face with them to begin with!

MY CHARACTER REMEMBERS THE LAST TIME THE BEASTS WERE SEEN-- THEY DIDN'T BEHAVE LIKE THIS AT ALL!

You're right! Something is definitely up. They don't seem to be tormented or in pain, but there is absolutely something that's making them act out, and... quite frankly, giving them an attitude. Not just with other characters, but also with each other! Characters are more than welcome to find that really weird, and rude as hell! C'mon, you guys are like a billion years old! Act your age!

DO WE HAVE TO FOLLOW THE WEATHER LISTED ON THE CALENDAR TO A T?

As the calendar shows, the weather is flip-flopping back and forth pretty violently day to day! But no, you actually don't have to follow it exactly! While the Beasts are the speediest things around, there's still only one of each, and they can't be everywhere at once! So it's entirely possible that everything is stormy on a given day until Entei randomly barges through town around 5 PM and dries up the storm there without a trace. And while he's doing that, maybe Suicune went and made it rain over the route that Entei had been toasting to a crisp earlier.

ON THE 17th, WILL RAIKOU AND ENTEI'S ROARING REALLY BE ABLE TO BE HEARD ALL OVER NORTHERN JOHTO? THAT SOUNDS FAKE.

Really. We're not talking sonic booms that are causing earthquakes or anything, but just like real-life lions can be heard roaring from miles away, Raikou and Entei are loud, and their roars will carry. Those in the immediate proximity on the mountain may be more comfortable with some earplugs, and can probably feel the ground vibrate. Those further away will be able to hear echoes of the roars as distant rumbles. Which wouldn't be such a big problem, but well, it just keeps going. They apparently don't need to sleep, and they also apparently don't care that other things need to sleep.

WILL THE WILD WEATHER CONTINUE EVEN WHILE RAIKOU AND ENTEI ARE PREOCCUPIED?

Yes, to a degree! While they're busy hurling ancient, legendary insults at each other, Suicune has a better chance of influencing things than they do, so while the heat and the storms will still be wreaking havoc, Suicune is now there to make everything outside of the Mt. Mortar territory disgustingly muggy and wet all the time without fear of interruption. Th... thanks, buddy.

... AND THAT'S GOING TO LAST THE ENTIRE EVENT?

Until something stops them, yes. We apologize in advance for how tired and miserable and sweaty everyone's gonna be.

HOO BOY. WHAT ABOUT THESE GROUPS THAT OUR CHARACTERS CAN JOIN?

More specific information will come later via another newspost on the 17th, but characters will be invited to head to three different locations, depending on where they think they'll be most useful/what they're most curious about: the Bell Tower in Ecruteak City, the Seafoam Islands, and of course Mt. Mortar itself.
Of the three locations, Mt. Mortar will be more about damage control than anything else-- two Legendaries (a fire-type and an electric-type, no less!) setting up shop on the mountain means a not only a huge forest fire risk (Smokey the Ursaring wants you to stop forest fires!), but also lot of panicking wild Pokemon being stirred up (including a much greater abundance of rare ones than usual!). The Rangers will have their hands full just trying to keep things under control!

OKAY, SO WHAT WILL THE BELL TOWER AND SEAFOAM ISLAND GROUPS BE DOING?

The Bell Tower folks will be doing research into why this is happening, and those who go to Seafoam Islands will be exploring deep within the caves! Both groups will also be heavily involved with what happens from the 24th onwards. We don't wanna ruin the surprise, but needless to say, the Beasts are not the only Legendaries who have a part to play in this event...

... IT'S LUGIA AND HO-OH ISN'T IT.

;)

A-HEM. MODS, YOU KNOW FULL WELL THAT LUGIA LIVES IN THE WHIRL ISLANDS, NOT THE SEAFOAM ISLANDS, RIGHT?

;)

GRUMBLE GRUMBLE WE'D BETTER BE REWARDED FOR THIS...

Rewards will depend on which group a character joins, and also whether or not the requirements are met! But don't worry, successfully solving this larger-than-life dispute will result in something very special for every character involved!

WHAT IF MY CHARACTER JUST FLIES UP TO THE PEAKS AND TELLS RAIKOU AND ENTEI THAT THEY'RE VERY BAD BOYS WHO NEED TO KNOCK IT OFF?

A deeply admirable sentiment, but not even the bravest trained Pokemon will dare carry their trainer up to the two angry legends, and it's far too steep for any human to climb unaided. Even if you could, they wouldn't listen. No mere human can shame these stinkers into behaving themselves! But hm, something else might...

THEY ARE VERY BAD BOYS WHO NEED TO KNOCK IT OFF, THOUGH.

They certainly are.

Got any questions? Ask 'em here!

Comments

GROUP SIGNUPS

[indigo_league]

Comment to the group you want your character to be in with that character's account! Participation requirements are sign-up based rather than comment based, so make sure you do sign up!

Individual characters may only sign up for one group, and keep in mind that they will not be able to switch groups partway through. Once they're signed up, that's where they'll be! This is to make sure we have the right count in each location, and because location affects prize distribution.

(The location information included in the comments will also be on the log itself and is just included here for convenience's sake!)

BELL TOWER

[indigo_league]

Volunteers helping at the Bell Tower will arrive in Ecruteak City and be welcomed into the Bell Tower-- the normally-reclusive monks are still fairly stiff, but in the interest of not driving off the very help they asked for, they will be much more accommodating than usual.

Little studies have been set up all over the archive rooms in the upper floors, allowing volunteers to group up at tables and pore over old tomes and scrolls for any information that might be related to Ho-Oh or the three Beasts-- of course, there’s also a wealth of information about legendary Pokemon from other regions… just don’t let the monks catch you getting off-topic!

Gym Leader Morty will also be present helping with the research, and is using his Indigo League funds to finance inn lodgings in town for all volunteers. As for refreshments, local restaurants have also stepped up, eager to provide free food for all volunteer researchers! Gogoat-drawn carts full of fresh, traditional cuisine will come trundling up to the Tower several times a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)-- often accompanied by the restaurant-owners themselves. The guy who runs ECRUTEAK HOUSE OF DUMPLINGS will be there a lot-- he and his Emboar are particularly bombastic about stuffing everybody full of delicious fried dumplings at every opportunity. Gotta stay well-fed if you want to study!

That said, anyone wishing to pull an all-nighter will either have to bring their own snacks or rely on the monks’ supplies-- which means plain rice, hot tea, and not much else.

Minimum Participation Requirement: 7 characters signed up
On the 23rd, we will RNG an active, ongoing thread in which characters are researching to find the key plot information to summon Ho-Oh! (After this point, all signed-up characters are free to help work with the discovered information!)
NOTE: If there are any questions about specific regional history or Legendary Facts (tm) , use the Questions thread and we’ll let you know if it’s available in the archives or not!)

(General Info | Pokemon Availability)


JOIN THE BELL TOWER MONKS?

Walter Sullivan | Silent Hill 4

[11121_assumption]

Walter (and his ghosts) will be joining the monks

Heather Mason | Silent Hill

[foolishwren]

TIME 2 STUDY

Cissnei | Final Fantasy VII

[notmyrealname]

Cissnei will be there to assist! (As well as try to sneak peeks at some other information using her mad Turk spy skills)

Jane Crocker | Homestuck

[cyan_maid]

...AKA, Jane will help comb through the archives.

Anders | Dragon Age

[purramedic]

sign him the hECK Up

Envy | Fullmetal Alchemist

[exeggutorhead]

Time for Envy's canon-requisite secret nerd skills to come into play.

Lust | Fullmetal Alchemist

[a_sin_for_him]

Homunculi research geek-out is go!

[armoredsoul]

Time for Elrics to crash the party!!

Edward Elric | Fullmetal Alchemist

[alltoblame]

Dropping Ed here with the rest of the nerds

Sion Astal | The Legend of the Legendary Heroes

[dreamsofahero]

As a note, Sion for the most part will not bring the Silver Wing with him unless/until there's a specific reason to do so. He'll mention/discuss it with the monks, but doesn't see the point in risking it until they have a lead to go on. It has kind of sentimental value to him and Ryner (despite definitely being a bit ragged and tattered) so he prefers to keep it safe until needed. :|b

Also for clarification's sake, "we figured out where Ho-Oh is now we just need to get its attention" does qualify as good reason!

Diana Ladris | Gone

[keep_surviving]

Diana's here for free food and nice safe book reading!

Ryner Lute | The Legend of the Legendary Heroes

[tearsofademon]

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooks

MT MORTAR

[indigo_league]

The base of Mt. Mortar is a flurry of activity no matter what the hour-- the center of operations is a large camping area at the foot of the mountain, where a small army of tents have been set up. Rangers and volunteers alike are rushing around, and anyone just arriving will be asked to sign in and mark whatever tasks they’ll be helping with.

Strong trainers can sign up for field work, which can involve anything from patrolling the mountain to evacuate campers to helping corral the panicking wild Pokemon population (bright side: there’s even more rare ones running around than normal, and capturing them is a quick and easy way to get them out of harm’s way!). Trainers with flying types may even wind up helping to carry water over from the Lake of Rage in case of what the Rangers all fear: forest fire.

More inexperienced trainers with lower-leveled Pokemon will be encouraged to stick around base where it’s a little safer-- but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of work to be done! Several meal tents are set up around the base, where you can serve (or be served) quick meals from hot pans, soup kitchen style. Nothing fancy or extravagant, but nothing that won’t taste great after a long hectic day of running around the mountain. And hey, it’s free.

A first-aid tent is also set up where trainers and their Pokemon can have injuries patched up-- the Nurse Joys staffing it can always use assistance to keep up with everything.

Sleeping quarters are provided via cot-filled tents set up around the base-- those ones are first-come, first-serve, so grab one fast! Helping the Rangers out is an all-day-all-night affair, so everyone just sleeps and eats when they get the chance to. Reminders to do both on a regular basis are posted all around-- nobody wants sleep-deprived trainers doing dangerous work, even if, between the constant roars of Raikou and Entei and the constant activity within the camp, sleeping could get pretty difficult.

Fortunately, one of the first things you’ll be handed upon arriving is a pair of heavy-duty earplugs.

Minimum Participation Requirement: 7 characters signed up
On the 23rd, a massive forest fire will break out! UH OH! ALL HANDS ON DECK!
NOTE: Due to the abundance of Pokemon, all rarities of Pokemon may be considered common for the duration of this event.

(General Info | Pokemon Availability interior and exterior)

JOIN THE RANGERS?

Wrath | Fullmetal Alchemist 2003

[garbagechild]

Wrath is ready to chase rare animals around a mountain range for two weeks

Jean Kirschtein | Attack on Titan

[notvaljean]

Jean is on top of this evacuation, Pokemon-wrangling thing.

Shiro | Voltron

[shiro2hero]

WHO NEEDS SLEEP +1 INSOMNIAC SPACEMAN TO HELP WRANGLE POKEMON AND PEOPLE

SEAFOAM ISLANDS

[indigo_league]

On the shores of the Seafoam Islands, everything is… well, chaos.

The beaches are COVERED in tents of all shapes, sizes, and… raggedness. It seems many folks have shown up in lieu of Greg’s frantic video post, and they’ve more or less taken over. You can barely see the sand! Things are quite a bit less organized than they are over at Mt. Mortar, which unfortunately means that for food and first-aid, you might need to wind up heading over to the teeny tiny little dock town with the inn (booked solid, sorry!) and the shop (Blaine’s beach is less occupied, but he can be seen from time to time passive-aggressively picking up peoples’ trash around the outskirts of the tent army and scowling).

Because out on the beach, there’s no first-aid to speak of and if you go to the 'food tent', you’ll just be handed something like this.

Fortunately, unlike their hilariously futile efforts to find Celebi and aside from their clear lack of event-managing knowledge, it seems the Seekers actually are onto something. Every six hours or so, Articuno, Zapdos, or Moltres CAN be seen soaring high overhead and disappearing around the back of the mountain, often with stolen food or shiny things glinting in their talons.

The Seekers themselves are more concerned with getting all their equipment functioning than they are about accommodating all the tourists who just showed up to sit on the beach and stare at the horizon in hopes of seeing one of the Birds-- but if you can actually find them in the chaos, they’ll eagerly put you to work.

In this case, 'work' means 'heading straight into the caves to try and #FindLugia'. Well? WILL YOU?

Minimum Participation Requirement: 7 characters signed up!
On the 23rd, we will RNG an active, ongoing thread in which characters are exploring to pick who officially discovers the cavern that Lugia is residing in! (After this point, all signed-up characters may also enter the cavern at will!)
NOTE: Characters may explore far deeper in the caves than normal, and higher-rarity Pokemon will be easier to find the deeper down you get. The Legendary Birds may be seen but not interacted with.

(General Info | Pokemon Availability)

JOIN THE LEGEND SEEKERS?

QUESTIONS

[indigo_league]

[dreamsofahero]

So what happens if characters try to be nice and offer the troublemakers food/berries/etc in an attempt to convince them to calm down a little? And can such random encounters be handwaved or will the mods be tagging into posts/logs for that?

ALSO so Sion and Ryner picked up a Silver Wing (i.e. a slightly tattered old Lugia feather) in the Whirl Islands ages and ages ago, with the approval of the mods at the time. It's not a widely ICly known fact though (they've only shown it to close friends) and at the time it was OOCly intended just as a souvenir of no real consequence or importance. And we don't expect it to be plot-relevant now, but since it's a thing that may well ICly get mentioned/come up during this event from the sound of it, we thought you guys might want to have a heads up that it exists. :|b

RE: BELL TOWER MONKS

[11121_assumption]

Given Walter was a Rocket and would've made use/archived what he thought useful out of the E4's library at Prom, is there any additional information he might be aware of? He won't have taken special interest in Lugia but given that Ho-oh is a fire type Pokemon said to have resurrected the dead, a legendary Pokemon like that would've caught his interest due to his religious beliefs and he would have made notes on whatever info he could find about it at the time.

He's also spent a lot of time at Burned Tower, both to train his Pokemon, to simply visit the ghosts there and to explore it. Are there any clues in the Burned Tower or is it simply a husk in regards to this event?

SO ABOUT THAT LUGIA FEATHER....

[dreamsofahero]

Ryner's player and I were discussing what these two would ICly do, and the point came up that given the announcement of Lugia's presence in the islands being more or less "confirmed", there's a good chance Sion might first approach the monks and, if he believes them sufficiently trustworthy to not blab about it, discreetly inform them about the whole silver wing thing. And ask if they thought it would be better to bring it to Seafoam rather than Sion and Ryner lending their expertise (and years of researching legendaries on their own) at the Bell Tower.

Since basically under ordinary circumstances the fact that Lugia's already been found would make them favor trying to help find the legendary that's apparently MIA, buuuut they'd also realize that having a token related to it might mean something, even if only to other trainers. SO the question is, what kind of response would they get if Sion mentioned this right up front? Since that would potentially greatly influence what they opt to do one way or another...

[pipers_son]

Joker is bringing a bunch of supplies for Tent Hell at the Seafoam Islands. Coincidentally, he is also totally going to try to slip the bill to the Legendary Seekers like the little shit he is.

Success y/n

[badluckbabe]

Now that Jinx has stumbled across the horde of treasure, what should she expect if she sends her Brionne in there to maybe take some things...like that motorcycle.

And like...if Luigi bird leaves in the next or final stage of the event would that make things easier?

___________

Second Question! If Jinx sends Brionne down there to look for whatever mystery pokemon is lurking, would she see anything/would anything happen to her?