victory_road | Castle Prom 2020

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hm? Flayn turns, having been completely immersed in gentle pets and soft words, and her eyes brighten at the offer. Sugar cubes for horses had been an extremely rare commodity in the war, but she does recall Ferdinand sneaking some with him during their time caring for the horses. Despite everything, he always had a soft heart for steeds.]

Oh my! Are you sure? I would not want to impose...

Of course I don't mind. [She shifts forward, making a move to dump the sugar cubes into the girl's hands. There's some trepidation with her movements, the usual anxiety that comes from meeting strangers. She's used to her friends, vault hunters without too much concern for manners. It's easy to forget how to act around others, especially when Angel has as little experience as she does.]

I would hate to get between the two of you, nor would it be fair to give treats to every other creature in the stables except for this one.

[It's not far of a stretch for Flayn to notice the trepidation, though she cannot quite discern why someone would be nervous around her, especially in this world. Her eyes stay wide and her expression grateful as her hands splay open to accept the sugar cubes.]

Fear not, you have done nothing of the sort. As I understand it, these horses are for all of us to share while we are here.

[The sugar cubes tinkle together as they fall from one outstretched palm and into another. Angel retracts her hand and dusts off her hands, grimacing at the stickiness of unmelted sugars.]

Well. I am certainly glad to hear that. I'm afraid I'm not very good at distinguishing when I'm being an imposition. [Ah, social ineptitude, one of the disadvantages of being locked away for the better part of her life.] Still, I would hate to crowd the creatures. Well-behaved though they may be, I imagine it would be pretty easy to become overwhelmed by all of the people here.

I assure you this is no imposition.

[It is the most polite transfer of sugar she's ever experienced. And that's saying something.]

They seem used to limited company, it is true...and the friends from school who knew more of equine care than I would often emphasize how important it was to give them space.

[Friends from school...Goddess, they hadn't been schoolmates in a long time, and yet she still calls them as such...is it in the hopes to return to those carefree days for a moment?]

They've likely had people clamoring over them since we started arriving. I've only seen a fair few of their younger counterparts. They seem... very novel. [It was not so unlike Pandora, in that respect. People fell all over themselves trying to get the newest and shiniest thing. Luckily, at least, these new, shiny things weren't guns.]

Your school had horses, then? [She regrets the question after sending it. For all she knew, it was perfectly normal for schools to have horses. It's not like she could speak from any amount of experience.]

Oh? What are their younger counterparts like?

[She may or may not have obtained an egg at this point.]

It did! Though, the monastery made regular use of them to begin with, so it made sense to learn their care and keeping...and the school was particularly for officers of battle, some of which made horses their trusted mounts.

Well... Rather than having such well groomed manes, they're a little more... unruly. Just as soft, though considerably smaller. My friend calls his Cloud Pony, if that helps put it into perspective.

Ah. They are... Wonderful to hug.

[Yes, Angel has hugged Cloud Pony a great many times, thank you.]

Officers for battle? [Angel tries her best to not make a face. This isn't the first time she's heard about battle academies. And after Armin's story, she's convinced they're all awful.] I suppose it must be nice, having steeds at the ready and instructors willing to help you establish a bond.

Are they really?

[Flayn's eyes sparkle in anticipation.]

Oh, it is most wonderful! Some of the best riders I know formed incredibly strong bonds with their mounts, and took the time to spoil as many horses as they could with affection as well as care.

[Did you know Bernadetta is an incredible Bow Knight]

Oh, absolutely, yes. From what I've found, they're very pure creatures. They aren't particularly fond of any sort of malevolence, and they're adept at reading the very souls of the creatures they're examining. It's incredible, even if I do question the efficacy of their talents.

[For a creature that hid away from evil, the fact that one has ended up in Jack's possession is beyond her. It was surprising the poor thing hadn't ran away yet.]

That's... Surprising, actually. [War-hardened individuals rarely went hand in hand with kindness living creatures in her experience. At least somewhere in the universe, someone knew how to treat creatures as more than tools.] They really tended to the other horses, even if they weren't their own?

[Someone get Bernie a Rapidash, stat.]

Of course! If we did not care for each other, our efforts would be lessened. It also serves as a wonderful way to bond with your fellows, working together like that.

[Give Bernie all the Pokemon]

You're correct, of course. I only wish more people saw it that way. In my experience, war has proven to be far more divisive than anything, even among the most stalwart of allies.

Perhaps there is hope, then. [She pauses, glancing between Flayn and the Rapidash, then quickly shakes her head.] But this is hardly the appropriate direction for a conversation to take. I'm sorry.

No, it is alright. Some aspects of life are unavoidable...and even if they are unpleasant, it is important to talk about them, and not shy away completely.

[Even if Flayn hates war and the pain it brings, it is an inevitability of human life...sigh.]

But you are correct - we are here to enjoy ourselves, are we not? Such a topic is hardly appropriate.

You're right.

[Angel hums thoughtfully, searching for a more suitable topic. Circling back to the horses seemed just as likely to devolve into yet another unpleasant topic.]

You're going to the ball tonight, right? If you're here, I imagine you are. Not that I would blame you if you simply showed up to see the horses.

Oh! Yes, I most certainly am here to participate in the ball!

[The light sparks back into her eyes at the thought!]

Dancing is such fun! And the atmosphere of a beautiful party makes it all the more welcome, do you not think so?

Castle Prom 2020

ponies!!!!

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