victory_road | Beach fun for beach bums

Entry tags:

Beach fun for beach bums

Who: Everybody!
Where: Cianwood!
When: June 21st, all day.
Summary: Come to Cianwood today to celebrate the solstice, participate in a race and maybe even get a date??

June 21st. The solstice. The longest day of the year. Practically half the year gone already, which frankly, seems rather insane. It seems like only yesterday you were all fighting to save Christmas with Santa, and yet, that was almost six months ago! How can that be? We just don't know. Time is a force even more mysterious than pokemon evolution.

In any case, Cianwood has gone all out to make this solstice a great big celebration. The beach is awash with bright-coloured umbrellas and stands, selling everything a visitor might need to make this into one hell of a day (and, let's be real, also a lot of things you don't need, but hey, who doesn't want a nice souvenir?) Rental stands have everything from surfboards to huge inner tubes for rent for those who want to stay at the surface of the water, as well as snorkelling equipment for those who won't mind taking a peek below the surface. On a cleared stretch of beach, a small Sand Castle Contest is being organised. The prize won't be anything fancy (just a token little reward, really) but why not enter? Don't worry, there are separate prizes for kids and adults. Meanwhile, large piles of wood have been stacked here and there, waiting for evening to fall so the bonfires can be lit.

One particular section of the beach is a riot of different smells, with various restaurants and other establishments having set up stands to sell you all the very best. It doesn't matter what you are in the mood for, because you won't have any trouble finding it here! Want some BBQ? It's there; several Sizzlepede keeping those coals nice and hot while the cooks chuck everything that can vaguely be chucked onto those grills. Would you rather cool down with some ice cream? No problem; just as long as you can actually make a choice from all those different flavours available. Has the summer sun put you in a fruit mood? Watermelons (whole and cut), strawberries, cherries, papaya -- it's too much to name!

Or do you maybe just want a drink? It's important to keep hydrated, you know! Juice, water, mocktails and cocktails, everything that you could possibly want to stave off the heat is there. There is even coffee and teas available for those who need their daily worship at the Church of Caffeine. Just don't overheat on them!

And, of course, there is the race.

It looks like the first-ever SEMPER race has drawn quite the crowd. And where there is a crowd, there are more souvenir stands. Why not buy a flag or two to cheer on your pokemon? Or maybe you should buy an 'I ran the SEMPER race and all I got was this lousy t-shirt' for your pokemon to commemorate the occasion. They sell them in all sorts of sizes.

And then there is that mystery section of beach, currently cordoned off with ropes and screens. Signs let everybody know that this is where the Helping Hand auction will be taking place later tonight, but if you had hoped to get an early peek at the decorations or items up for auction, you will be sorely disappointed. Be patient and wait like everybody else is.

So come all and enjoy the beach. Participate in a race maybe, and pull your wallets for tonight's charity event. After all, who knows when disaster might strike again? Better enjoy things while you can!

ooc: The Charity Auction will have its own log, which will be posted later tonight. Should there be any questions, please use the event info post to ask them.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Shrike simply isn't very used to relating to others. He's learning, but it's still hard at times, especially when there's a lot to take in. Not to mention, he's having to figure out how to express himself as he goes, too, now that there's actually a few people who apparently don't mind talking to him.

"I think they're all right? They seem a little stronger than before..."

That means he's doing it correctly, right? He's never cared for something else like this before, so he's not always sure if he's making mistakes or not.

So they are still slowly leveling up bit by bit... "That's good to hear," Dimitri says. At least he knows from experience that even if a Pokemon isn't a battler, then they can still get experience and build up their strength from exercise and play.

"If you use the Pokegear, it actually should help you see just how much progress they've made, actually. I didn't realize that for a long time."

"That's what the uh... pokédex is for, right? With all the numbers..."

He's probably pronouncing that last bit more like 'deck', he's still not the greatest at reading. And while he's apparently inquisitive enough to have explored some of the 'gear's functions, he still doesn't fully understand what all the labels and stats are supposed to mean.

"That's right. Most of them you honestly won't need to bother with, I think..." At least, Dimitri doesn't. "However, the level helps you keep track of their growth, and it can also show you the kind of abilities they may know."

Dimitri glances back to their bag of things, pondering if he should dig out his own Gear. "We could go over it, if you like. I am no expert, but maybe I could make it seem a little simpler to look at?"

"I know how to use it."

He just doesn't understand what some of the words and numbers mean. Some of it may as well be in a foreign language.

"I know you understand it," Dimitri says. "But some of the things can be a bit confusing, can't they? I didn't understand a great many things, until Chip was able to explain them to me."

Frankly, if Chip wasn't a child, and Dimitri wasn't terribly weak to kids, it's very possible he'd never remembered a single thing explained to him. He'd been in a state, then.

Being weak to kids would certainly explain his willingness to put up with Shrike's nonsense.

"Oh, uh, like why it says two kinds of 'attack'?"

And... other things. The kid has no frame of reference at all for understanding videogame-style stats.

"Two kinds of attack..." Dimitri murmurs it to himself as he digs through his bag, pulling out his Pokegear again. At least now he's finally become a little more used to the technology, and it's easy enough to pull up the Pokedex function.

"Oh - do you mean the 'Attack' and 'Special Attack'?"

"Yeah."

Though frankly, he only has a general idea what 'attack' and 'defense' mean in the first place, in this context. He just assumes that bigger numbers mean the pokémon is better at it.

Dimitri, in contrast, has a better idea of what 'attack' and 'defense' mean, just because he's a warrior and should have been a leader, so those things tend to come up... Especially during times of war, which Fodlan always seems to have at some point or another.

Even better, he's had Chip for over half a year, and Chip has been a wealth of information. So maybe there's a little bit of eagerness to Dimitri's voice as he passes on what information he's learned from the young child. "Attack means physical attacks - anything that may make contact with one's opponent. For example, 'Tackle' is affected by 'Attack'. Meanwhile, 'Special Attack' does not tend to make contact. They're often associated with a type - Grass, Electric, and so forth."

"It's just different attacks?"

He still sounds confused. Attacking is attacking, whether it's using fists, or claws, or channeling some sort of energy to throw at the opp--Oh.

"It's different ways of attacking?"

Like casting a spell as opposed to swinging a sword, or something.

"That's right." Dimitri smiles. "Like the way a bow is different from a sword, and magic different from both of those. The way they address 'defense' is very much the same, as far as I can tell."

And it's a simple, although childish, way of describing the differences. Then again, considering how freely children are allowed to leap straight into such journeys, maybe that makes sense. It is to help them most of all.

That does seem overly simplistic, but then again, Pokémon 'battles' aren't real, life or death fights, either. Shrike thinks over this newfound realization for a moment, in any case, starting to make connections with what stats relate to what attributes.

"And the bigger numbers mean it's stronger, right?"

That he's pretty sure of, given his observations so far. It might be unfamiliar, but he's still perceptive and a quick learner.

"That's right," Dimitri says, glad to see Shrike catching on so quickly. It's a simple and uncomplicated system, but the foreign nature of it can still throw people off.

"And the strength of one against the defense of another gives an idea of how much damage can be taken. Although that's only in a rather cut and dry way... When it happens in real life, it feels quite different."

Shrike might be woefully undereducated, especially for his actual age, but that's not the same as lacking smarts. Not by a long shot. If anything, he's actually a pretty fast learner, given the opportunity.

"I know there's the types, too..." Some of which he still thinks are odd, to say the least. Still, knowing what those stats actually mean is pretty huge and helpful.

"That's right." Turning in place, Dimitri tugs open the cooler, and ice begins to clink against ice as he rustles out a bottle of water.

"Some of the ways they interact with one another can be rather confusing, although it seems that they might have a basis that some are simply unaware of. Some ideas they lean upon seem a bit foreign, depending on where is from, of course." Dimitri smiles over to him. "And it does not help there are so many types. Is that something you have had trouble with?"

"It's not that hard to remember the names, but..." Well, not hard for him, he's a quick learner. "Some of them don't really make sense?"

He's still mildly bewildered by types like 'fairy' and 'dragon'.

Ah. Dimitri nods, understanding. Razor, he thinks, had been a little befuddled by them as well, and just why they affected one another like they did. "Is 'fairy' one of them, or...?"

That had simply been what his past experiences have told him is the one that seems to come up the most. Dimitri understands completely, honestly, because he doesn't understand what makes any of them 'fairy' to start with. Most Fairy type Pokemon are just... cute.

Which is apparently strange to some other people, like Grant.

Some of the more straightforward types, like fire and water, or even flying, make some degree of sense. Others... not so much. That said, while it may just be sheer coincidence or a good guess, Shrike is a bit startled when Dimitri happens to specifically mention fairy. Sure, Shrike had asked about it on the network back when he first arrived, but that was ages ago and he hadn't spoken to Dimitri at the time, either.

"Um. Y-yeah." Perhaps he's just surprised Dimitri guessed it so easily? He continues, though, trying to explain his confusion. "Things like grass and water and rock are just things so it kinda makes sense Pokemon can use them because things like magecraft draw on that too. But fay--fairies--are something else. They're different from people like animals or--or Pokemon are different so it's weird calling them fairy types!"

That's not even touching on the fact that the fay Shrike knows of most certainly are generally not cutesy magical fairies. But even if he thought to explain that part, he's a little short of breath after blurting that all out in one go. And self-consciously tugging at his hood a bit.

Oh - well. That is quite a rush of words, and Dimitri pauses in his water acquisition efforts to listen carefully, leaning a little closer as he does so from his attempt. So this does have something to do with magic, he sees. At least, the magic someone else knows, even if Dimitri isn't entirely familiar with this sort himself.f

"Yes, that is what I have heard as well," he agrees. "Grant's land knows of the fay, and he brought up his own confusion about them. Perhaps if you speak to him, the two of you could figure out just what about these creatures earned such an association. I am afraid that they are unfamiliar to me, personally."

Although now that he says that... "Have you had a chance to speak to Grant Abaroa?"

At least saying a lot at once is probably better than just clamming up. Though since Shrike has no way of knowing what parts Dimitri is and isn't familiar with, a haphazard explanation is the best he can do, anyway. Especially for something so taken for granted in his world.

Dimitri's reaction, or really, the lack thereof, does put Shrike a little more at ease again. He's not asking any pointed questions about Shrike's nature or acting wary or anything, at least. That said, his tone is a little cautious when he responds to the question.

"I don't think so?"

He's still always somewhat unsure about meeting new people in general, and in this specific context a little more so.

Considering how shy and young Shrike is, Dimitri isn't surprised about this. Still, he gives an encouraging nod. "Well, if you like, I could introduce you to him. Perhaps the knowledge and experiences the two of you have on this particular subject may not match exactly, but it might be reassuring for the two of you to speak with someone who at least has a faint understanding of it. Perhaps your differing knowledge might even help you understand more about Fairy type Paliens."

Of course... "Only if you wish to," Dimitri adds. "Grant is a kind and soft spoken sort of individual, and I can vouch for his character. But I understand you may have other plans."

Or just not want to meet anyone new, whether so suddenly like this or rather at all.

"I d-don't know..."

He vaguely realizes Dimitri's probably just trying to be helpful, and perhaps if it were to do with anything else Shrike might consider it. But the idea of being introduced to someone who knows what real fay are like specifically for the purpose of discussing that subject makes him nervous. He's been doing okay so far with keeping his hood on and being cautious in his interactions with people, but Shrike's not keen on taking unnecessary risks.

And he especially wouldn't want to risk losing the good opinion of one of the few people who's not only been nice to him, but he's actually found something in common with.

"That's fine." Clearly something about this conversation is making Shrike anxious. Dimitri wonders if it is really just about meeting a new person. It seems as though that would be a little much for such a relatively small matter... But he's learned that just because something seems small to him does not mean it is the same for anyone else.

Besides, people carry all sorts of burdens and scars from the lives they have lived, no matter how young they are. Something from his past may be affecting his feelings now.

Well, all Dimitri can offer him is reassurances, and he offers the bottle of water to Shrike. "If you ever do become sure, all you need to is ask me of him. He is quite an interesting man, really. Very calm and patient, even when one is acting wretchedly, as I did when I first met him. He has a child a little younger than you, and is interested in breeding." Dimitri pauses, trying to recall the exact words. "In fact, he has expressed an interest in... the concept of therapy paliens?"

That's how he described it, yes.

Shrike hesitates to take the water bottle. It's not that he isn't thirsty (it's probably obvious that he is), but that he's still a little reluctant to take things for free. He feels like he ought to be giving something in return.

That, and the fact that Dimitri seems to think highly of this Grant person aside, what he's saying catches Shrike's attention.

"Therapy?"

He has absolutely no idea what that is.

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