Castle Prom 2020

[indigo_league]

After arriving in Cerulean City and riding in one of a fleet of Cerulean Cape Shuckle Shuttle buses for an hour or so, the trees break and the road snakes along sea cliffs. In the distance, all can see a grand building rising up into sight, and excitement bubbles up within each and every heart as this year's mysterious, grandiose Prom location draws ever closer...




Welcome to the castle!

Their duo of hosts stand ready to welcome the characters when they arrive, assuring them that their luggage will be taken care of, and inviting them for a special tour of the castle, or would they rather first see their rooms, or perhaps even have a bite to eat? The choice is up to them.

THE CASTLE SIGHTS The Outer Courtyard For those wishing to get a breath of fresh air or looking for a place to perhaps engage in a little battling, look no further than the courtyard. Nestled safely within castle walls, the courtyard has been given a thorough renovation. The stones gleam like they have never gleamed before; a large fountain (certainly too new to have belonged to the original castle) stands at the center of the courtyard, the water gently cascading down over the marble figures of two nondescript and crowned humans, one holding a sword, the other a shield; wide-open doors welcome characters further into the castle. The Stables To the west lie the stables. Anyone interested in taking a ride along the cliff trails (or guests who just wants to see the horse Pokemon) is welcome to enter. The comforting smell of hay and wood hangs in the air, though any persons expecting to find familiar faces like Rapidash, Mudbray or Zebstrika is going to come off rather surprised. Instead what they will find are snow-white, proud-looking equines. Their long, pastel-colored manes and tails have been brushed to perfection, occasionally adorned with braids and white flowers. Long, violet colored horns jut out from their foreheads, a spiralling pure white groove running along their length. Long fetlocks drift along the ground, rather like delicate pink clouds, almost giving the Pokemon the appearance of being stabled on air rather than something so common as hay. Yes, anyone who has not yet had the pleasure of being able to admire the beauty and grace of the Galar Rapidash can look and ride their fill here. While the stable hands cannot allow anyone to actually keep one of the magnificent horses themselves no matter how much a guest is willing to pay, whenever their bosses aren’t looking, they certainly prove willing to provide characters with a Galarian Ponyta egg for a small price. (Limited to one per character) The Kitchens To the east lie the kitchens, and what kitchens they are! At all hours, characters will be able to smell the delicious aroma of a variety of sumptuous meals being prepared. In the mornings, the scent of fresh bread and breakfast fills the air, changing to the scent of pastries and later on more filling dishes as the day continues on, and fresh pots of tea are always on hand. Officially, the guests are asked not to enter the kitchen, as to not to disturb the many cooks working there. Unofficially, there are not exactly any guards, so if you really wanted to sneak in, you probably won’t get stopped. The Dining Room Adjacent to the kitchens awaits a large dining room. Tables have been set up in long rows with plenty of room for all with some to spare, and once someone sits down, almost as if by magic, they will soon find one of the waitstaff at their side, presenting them with an extensive menu. Order as much (or as little) as you like! The chefs will have it ready for you in a flash. The Ball Room The old castle ballroom has been done up to the nines, reflecting nothing but glory and splendor. Some delicate little tables and chairs stand at the sides of the room, for anyone who needs a quick break for their feet, but most of the polished marble floor is intended for dancing. There is a small chamber orchestra playing in a corner to provide everybody with only the classiest of tunes (though they do take requests for more modern music) and neatly dressed waitstaff with an uncanny ability to tell who is and isn't underaged flit through the crowd like black butterflies, making sure no glass goes unfilled. The Inner Courtyard The doors of the ballroom open wide onto a second, smaller courtyard at the back of the castle. Unlike the Outer courtyard, which was all stone, this smaller, Inner Courtyard is dominated by plants. The gardeners have done their very best to dress up the inner courtyard with plants and flowers of any kind - so many plants, in fact, that there is no room for battling out here. But if you wanted to take a breath of fresh air, wander around and look at the plants, or perhaps even try and find some of the small, secluded nooks created by the plant cover, you are more than welcome. In between the lovely smelling blooms, characters will also be able to find bushes and small trees laden with unfamiliar berries! Small cards in the soil will explain exactly what kinds of berries they are and what effect they have, and characters are invited to pluck a few berries if they want. Just don’t get too greedy! The new available berries are: Apicot, Salac, Ganlon, Petaya, Liechi, Lansat, Custap The Library Situated on the second floor is the castle's splendid library, a welcome respite for those less inclined to dance and frolic. Whatever books originally filled these weighty shelves are long gone, but their hosts have spared no effort in making reading material available to their guests. Among the shelves, guests will be able to find many books on the Galar region's history and myths. Some of these tales are already known over in this region (Who doesn't know the tale of the wise King Arthur and his oval table?) but there are also many more obscure and unknown fables and tales; the truly inquisitive may even be able to find some material on the two crowned fellows depicted in the main courtyard's fountain. It's almost as if Prom's esteemed hosts shipped over their whole personal library. They may, in fact, have shipped over their whole personal library. Pull up one of the plush armchairs, grab a book, and make yourself comfortable by the roaring fire! There's more to read here than you can finish in a lifetime! The Bedrooms Upstairs, guests will find all manner of bedrooms to choose from, from smaller rooms meant for a single person, to large ones for couples, to even larger ones for characters that would like to spend the night with a few friends. One thing holds true for them all: these rooms are seriously extravagant. Decked out in the finest of antique furniture like large canopy beds, solid wooden chairs, tapestries, and rugs, the decor brings to mind bygone centuries. There are even hearths in every room that can be used to light a small fire; while the rooms are all wired for electricity, unfortunately, central heating was a bit outside of the realm of possibility. The Tower Not all of the towers have undergone restoration, but the grandest, largest of them has. It will take some real stamina to climb all these stairs, but if they do, characters will be rewarded with two things: First of all, their two hosts have seen fit to create a small miniature museum inside the Tower’s chambers. Paintings, tapestries, and artefacts have been brought over from the Galar region to be put on display. All the artefacts brought over depict moments from Galar’s rich history, including paintings of ancient kings and queens, an actual knight’s armour, chalices, swords tucked in velvet under lock and key, and richly woven tapestries that for some reason seem to depict knights battling giant Slugma. If you still have energy after the climb to get here, you can continue on to the very top of the tower. From the tower’s high vantage point, it seems the entire Kanto region is on display in the incredible view. The ocean stretches out along the horizon, but closer to home, characters will be able to behold wild forests and cliffs, the green lush routes of Cerulean Cape itself and at night, millions and millions of stars twinkling up overhead. And all the rest... Beyond those sparkling rooms and done up corridors lies... the rest of the castle. The parts of the castle not quite done with their renovations are roped off, but nothing is stopping guests from exploring if they so wish - especially if they are interested in finding those rumored lost treasures or traps. While the rest of the castle shines, these parts of the castle feel almost haunted. Dust and derelict dominates the rooms, old broken furniture covered in dingy white sheets and creaking doors adding to the atmosphere. Did the eyes of that painting just move? Why is there a weird draft coming from that wall? What was that strange ominous creak coming from behind you? Are there any dungeons? Wait, did you just hear someone crying in a far off room? Jeez, no wonder they say this place is haunted. The Rocky Beach The main attraction outside of the castle, besides the hiking and riding paths, is a small stretch of rocky shoreline accessible just outside the main courtyard and down a surprisingly sturdy set of stone stairs. While it's a crummy place to lay out and get some sun, it is littered with bits of detritus from the sea. Shells, whole or broken, peek out between smooth pebbles and the rare piece of sea glass, and at low tide clumps of seaweed lay draped over the craggier outcroppings. Nothing is stopping you from fishing or poking around in the shallows for Pokemon, but you're more likely to find an interesting souvenir than a new friend...

---

AVAILABLE POKEMON Naturally, this wouldn't be a Pokemon Prom without some Pokemon to catch! All catchable Pokemon range between the levels of 10 to 30. The Pokemon in the castle mostly haunt the unfinished section, but feel free to have the occasional encounter in the renovated sections too! Castle Impidimp; Gastly; Haunter; Litwick; Lampent; Duskull; Shuppet; Sinistea; Misdreavus; Honedge; Doublade**; Dusclops**; Polteageist***; Gengar***; Courtyard Butterfree; Cutiefly; Ribombee; Beautiful; Vivillion; Rocky Shore Binacle; Staryu; Wimpod; Frillish; Krabby; Kingler**; Jellicent**; Slowking***; During the characters' stay, they might suddenly find their room a mess, as if a small tornado went through their luggage. They might even find themselves missing some incidental items or articles of clothing, nothing necessarily valuable or significant, but it sure is weird. This is... probably the work of the castle's Pokemon, right?

---

TREASURE HUNTING While your shuttle bus slowly trundles towards the castle, the driver will regale his riders with local stories and legends, chief among those the legend of the castle itself. You see, the castle was built by a relative of Bill (you know, the Pokemon storage system inventor?), but no one has lived in it for years and years because it is haunted. No, not haunted by Ghost types. That would be rather common and hardly worthy of note, wouldn't it? No, the castle is haunted by the ghost of Bill's great-great-great-uncle, and rumor has it that he is so possessive of the castle and its contents that he will kill all who enter. You see, even when he was alive, this man's enormous hoard of wealth was only outmatched by his enormous amount of paranoia. He was so paranoid that others would come to steal his wealth that he built his castle high upon the cliffs where no one could approach it undetected. But that wasn't enough to settle his fears! He started to hide his multitude of treasures all around the castle, and he built many traps and secret passages to protect them. It's said he was so fiercely protective of his money that he refused to leave the property even after his death, and his spirit still haunts the castle to this day. Many who have tried to find his treasures have disappeared. That is what the rumors say, at least. In any case, feel free to explore those abandoned halls and ruins for these supposed long-lost treasures. Better check for hidden rooms and passages behind old bookcases, trap doors covered by thick dust-riddled carpets, and perhaps even a hidden vault or two in the castle basements. Players are free to go absolutely wild in coming up with secret passages and hidden secrets for their characters to find. Now, as for the treasures characters can find during these explorations, they can broadly be divided up into two categories. The first category of treasures are common treasures. These are small, fairly common items that can be sold after prom for a small amount of Pokedollars each (think 100-200p), or they can be kept as a memento. Generally, these are small items that could easily fit inside a character's pocket and won't necessarily be well hidden. Characters are allowed to find as many of these common treasures as they want. Examples of common treasures would be items like pieces of antique silverware, broken mirrors, small figurines, old books damaged by the passage of time (but perhaps still readable in some places), or parts of worn and threadbare tapestry. The second category of treasures are rare treasures. These are properly hidden items that can either sell for quite a bit of Pokedollars after prom (think 5000-6000p), or can be used in-game. In order to allow of an element of surprise, every character that wants to participate in finding some rare treasure is allowed to comment once to a special RNG comment to find out exactly what they will find. Each treasure will consist out of somewhere between two and four items, the exact number of which will be left up to chance. For any questions, please refer back to the previous OOC post.

Comments

[tokenelfcharacter]

[Look that's how he'd introduce himself no matter who you were...]

I see.

[Are you... going to say anything else, Runaan? Like a normal conversation? Or just stand there looking critical - yeah you're standing there looking critical. This is why you're an assassin, not a diplomat.]

[Rowlet, however. Rowlet hoots and fluffs. She looks delighted! Why yes, she'd love to be friends! Come on let's play!]

[strings_theory]

[How the fuck, Carly. Though she's reaching her arms out for her with a small, pathetic whine. Because of course she is, she's awful.]

Do that later and come here now? Please? [Girl, that's pathetic.]

[strings_theory]

Too bad, Steven, you're no peach, either.

"Gonna have to stop me if you don't want me to, I don't make the rules~" You absolutely do, shut up, Jolyne. Though she's snapping her fingers to get the houndoom's attention, who is happily making her way back to Jolyne's side to sit and watch... whatever the fuck this is.

"Do we just... sit and wait now?"

[thestrongsilenttype]

[ Listen, two can play at this game, buddy. Except Link would rather be a little shit, apparently. ]

So, are you going to try killing me with your stick after all or have you decided against it?

[tokenelfcharacter]

If you leave, I have no reason to end your life.

[Buddy, you went to jail for that earlier. You stole lunch money from Youngsters.]

[fingersandteeth]

"Probably," Steven says, venturing a little closer to the giant Gengar. Now that he knows where the Wishing Star ought to be, thanks to Casper, he wants to be right there when the Pokemon finally shrinks, so he can discreetly palm it.

It's maybe just as well that Jack and Cattrap are taking this long to catch up, given that the whole sugar prison just made Cattrap's Pick-up a moot point.

[thestrongsilenttype]

Even if I stayed you would have no reason to end my life. [ 'If you even could,' he doesn't add. ] I haven't done anything to you. Besides, the little ones look like they're having fun.

[ Which is true. Champ and Rowlet are having a grand old time, playing and frolicking. Link smiles at them but his eyes don't leave Runaan for long. ]

A seems the most appropriate

[bendyandthepinkmachine]

Spinel has only sour feelings about the Castle's garden, yet she can't bring herself to leave right away. She used to love places like these, full of so much beauty and fun. She watched that vibrant garden wither and decay, waiting for her best friend to come back to her.

She lets out a heavy sigh, before noticing Rose. She immediately stiffens - yes she knows there was a Rose Quartz gem, but Spinel wasn't actually expecting to meet her. She tells herself to calm down. It's just another gem. No need to make this weird.

"Uh... hiya!"

Spinel gives a friendly little wave, forcing her best smile.

[bendyandthepinkmachine]

Spinel stares wide-eyed at the gigantic ghost. And worst yet, it was blocking the path to those delicious treats she tried earlier!

"Wow, he's a big one!"

She looks at her low-leveled Zorua and Vulpix, Obsidian and Hearthstone.

"What do you say, should we take it on?"

Obsidian and Hearthstone look at each other, turn, and start running away.

"Hey come back here! I thought you two could fight!!"

The Gengar on the other hand, is readying a shadow ball for the distracted Spinel.

[tokenelfcharacter]

[Ugh.]

Be that as it may. I did not ask for your company.

[Or anyone's, because he's hunkering up in here to be alone at prom like a hermit.]

Your animal may stay, if it wishes.

[thestrongsilenttype]

[ Ugh is right. This isn't worth his time. Champion being approved to stay makes it clear that it isn't the company that the other man doesn't want, and even though the Rockruff looks like he's enjoying himself, Link isn't going to risk leaving him with someone he doesn't know--especially this guy.

Crouching down, he whistles softly and Champion perks up, running back over to him. ]

I know you're having fun, but it's time to go.

[ Champion is disappointed, of course, but he barks farewell to Rowlet as Link stands. Link himself makes no quirky parting remarks--no point. He simply turns on his heel and saunters off. ]

[brokencode]

[Angel has yet to consider the ramifications of Armin narrating whatever inevitable NPC she ends up flirting with next. The first time had been silly enough that at least she could avoid thinking about the embarrassment. But with the precedent of Arielle being a raging flirt set, she's going to have to come to that conclusion sooner or later

For now, she hides her shame by speeding up -- so that Armin can't see the vibrant shade of red her face is turning. By some grace, she manages to lead herself to the stairs, and begins hefting herself up them. After she's taken a handful (and only found herself a little out of breath), she glances back at Armin]

It's just nice to be the rescuer for once. [She peers upward, stomach twisting uncomfortably. It's a funny conversation to have, as they're mounting an impossibly steep tower.] Did I ever tell you where I... grew up?

[uncutetomboy]

Akane nods. "It was raining earlier the day when Mr Saotome and Ranma showed up? So they were still... wet. So Mr Saotome was strong-arming Ranma in as a panda and Ranma... at first I just thought he was really short and really young.... but then my dad embraced him and realized he was a girl and Nabiki poked him in the chest and--

"I was so relieved, you know? That Ranma had turned out to be a girl. That the whole stupid omiai was cancelled. So I invited her--him--to the dojo to spar with me. And I thought-- I thought, maybe, since Ranma was a girl, she could be my friend. I wanted a friend like that. I have schoolfriends, but they're not... they're not the kind of friend I really wanted, you know? I wanted a friend I could train with. A friend who understood about martial arts.

"I couldn't get a blow in on her. She dodged all my attacks and then poked me in the back and laughed and after a moment I laughed too. And I told her I was glad she was a girl, because I'd hate to lose to a boy-- And I would have. Because... because Kuno--the kendo captain, one of Nabiki's classmates--he'd told the entire school if they wanted to date me, they had to defeat me in combat.

"Which. The way he said it, it made them think that if they did beat me I'd have to go out with them."

[sleepallthewayhome]

A lot of Pokemon like to fight. Plus if you defeat a wild pokemon you can sometimes catch them and ask if they want to join your team.

[The asking might just be a Newt thing.]

[sleepallthewayhome]

[So much stuff.]

Good.

[She's smiling though, before she goes back to the more interesting subject.]

I think all houses should have secret passages or rooms.

[notyourgoddess]

Speaking of more attacks. Maya has been in conference with her psychic pokemon as this has been going on. So the moment after Accelerock hits and hopefully the giant pokemon is knocked off balance, a Beheeyem and Lunatone will be flying up to hit the creature in the face with a Psybeam and a Psyshock attack together.

[notyourgoddess]

[They would have very strong feelings about this. They are incredibly biased after all. They are also right.]

With the basic training first. We'd have to figure out some of it as we went along. The sort of training I received isn't something I'd want to put other people through.

[Fuck the Order.]

However it would involve a lot of sitting, either by yourself or with me. Either listening to me talk you through an exercise or by yourself trying to do something like focus on your breathing.

It's....an odd practise and while I hate the monks who forced me to learn. I was able to use it a great deal to focus my powers, escape from a reality I hated while I was there and just to clear my thoughts and calm down.

[breakyourlife]

Oh, like actual surfing? They can do that?

[He'd figured she meant to move, but that's even more awesome. And speaking of awesome... ]

I guess I could pay you a visit sometime. I haven't actually been to the islands yet. I've been kind of focused on badges.

[bent_the_world]

I think Pokemon are like people. If they really want to do something and set their mind to it...they'll do it! And Princess really wanted to learn how to surf.

[And she isn't half bad, either.]

She really loves the water, which works out great since we live on the beach. And that settles it. Steve, you're officially being invited to come visit the islands. Take a little badge vacation and hang out for a weekend or something. Plus, Botan and I just renovated our house on our own and I want to show it off.

[Previously, Korra's 'house' had been a literal fisherman's shed that she and Botan had cleaned up and painted and decorated inside. But it had still been one room and the smallest, saddest bathroom ever. Now there's four whole rooms and a full bathroom.]

[bent_the_world]

Because I grew up in the arctic!

[Korra turns with a smile, waving in greeting to the younger woman who's wandered out to the beach.]

I'm pretty used to the cold. Even though I live in a tropical paradise now.

[uncutetomboy]

[Akane blinks. Really looks at the older girl.]

Are you an Eskimo?

[... Akane, that's not what you call Inuit people. Then again, you are from the 80s.]

[uncutetomboy]

[Akane grits her teeth and pushes herself harder, trying her best to keep up with Jolyne's speed, to get another and another kick or punch in. It's been a long time since she's had a spar like this--with both someone who takes her seriously and someone who can give her a real challenge--and it feels good, she realizes partway through. It feels so good to spar seriously for once.

As much as she adores Connie, Connie's real gift was with the sword, not her fists.]

[bent_the_world]

I have no idea what that is. I'm Southern Water Tribe. I grew up at the South Pole. In an ice compound.

[Which is why she isn't bothered at all by the chill of the sea right now.]

I'm Korra, I live down in the islands.

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie just gives Tyler a Look(tm).

C'mon. She's fifteen years old and grew up in the age of social media. She isn't that oblivious.

[conniemaheswaran]

"You do too! Like, really, really pretty."

Nothing to see here. Just two gals being pals.