Lunar Gym catch-all for the Stamp Rally

[paladinlost]

Who: Cecil Harvey and you!
Where: Lunar Gym, route 7, Kanto, with a Pokégear option for egg purchases
When: Throughout September
Summary: Catch-all log for the stamp rally and egg sale.



There’s something new in the Lunar Gym, this month: a pair of tables, placed in the entrance halls. Plain black tables, nothing special about them… except for the puzzle.

It’s nice enough, as far as puzzles go. A solid lacquered wood base, with inlaid glass arrows in green and red pointing at the various squares that surround them. Perhaps those are linked to the eighteen pieces of wood lying about, each with an inlaid symbol representing a Pokémon type?

Well, of course they are. One can even assume that the arrows represent the effectiveness of any given type against another. But people who aren’t familiar with Cecil’s gym or don’t pay attention to its decor may have some trouble figuring out its expected solution.


However, that’s not all that’s happening around the gym! Visitors have the opportunity to admire select artwork by local artists (business cards for each of them are available in the waiting rooms), to rest a bit or even spend the night, to challenge Cecil himself in hopes of earning the Selenian Badge, and to nearly trip over a bunch of eggs piled haphazardly all over the place. Maybe even buy a few to make the building safer for everyone? Pretty please?

Comments

[paladinlost]

That question gets a quick laugh out of him.

"As it happens, I'm the Lunar Gym's owner and leader. Feel free to come back for an official challenge, once your team has gained greater strength. That should not take nearly as long as two years in this world, worry not."

Though someone who's been here for two years might well decide to use the rally as motivation to visit. Then again, her friend could be a dedicated breeder who cares little for combat, for all he knows.

When Sula the Mienshao finally enters the room, she does so bearing five eggs in her arms. They quickly join the Turtonator on the table, where Cecil quickly separates them by species, displaying them like a stall owner at a festival.

"Well, here they are. Your options would be Axew, Deino, Jangmo-o and Turtonator. And the two Swablu, but those are technically not Dragon-types until they evolve. Would you like a general description of each species, or are you more interested in the moves they'll know?"

[mywayistheway]

His good natured reply actually gets a little smile out of her. Everyone she’s met here has been kind or at least tolerant so far. This world was a much more peaceful place than she was used to.

As far as her friend coming to visit this gym? Despite him not being far away she wouldn’t hold her breath. He hardly seemed interested in the whole Pokémon training affair. Which admittedly was part of what drove her growing interest. Several people have helped her learn as well.

But now to the eggs. They were all not very remarkable looking on the outside, but she couldn’t help but wonder about the creatures that were on the inside as she looked between them.

“A description of each species would be a good place to start.”

[paladinlost]

"Very well! Let's start with the Turtonator, then."

He proudly lifts the egg he fished out of the pile earlier.

"That one is a big, bipedal turtle that has no evolution, sharing the Fire and Dragon-types. A good defensive Pokémon, with some nice move variety. Then there's the Axew–"

The instant the Turtonator egg is back on the table, he lifts another.

"–which is the first of a three-stage line of pure Dragon-types. It's mainly a physical attacker, but it can cover a dozen types with some investment. You can even use it to travel on water routes, as long as no waterfalls or whirlpools stand in your way. Meanwhile, the Swablu–"

Those eggs don't get lifted, but merely gently petted.

"–only get their Dragon-type when they evolve, at which point they lose the Normal-type. They are also Flying-types, which makes them compatible with Fly, which is the most efficient way of reaching cities you've never visited. Their evolution, Altaria, is also compatible with a Mega Stone, giving them a helpful power boost. Oh, and speaking of flyers–"

The next egg wobbles a little when Cecil grabs it.

"–Deino cannot fly at first, and that's a good thing because its eyesight is terrible, but it does gain that power when it evolves into the three-headed Hydreigon, despite its second type being Dark. Expect great compatibility with bite attacks and the occasional nip. Finally, Jangmo-o–"

For this last one, he just gestures at the egg with enthusiasm.

"–is part of another three-stage Dragon-type line, though that one gains the Fighting-type along the way. It has a strong affinity with sound-based attacks due to the noise its golden scales make."

[mywayistheway]

A tile, the dragon one, is casually placed on the puzzle and she studies it again for a moment before lifting her face to give him her undivided attention.

All the descriptions he gives are fascinating and she’s delighted with all the information he offers. Her finger taps on that dragon tile as she listens and thinks it over. All those dual types are certainly something to think about as she’s recently learned all the strengths and weaknesses behind them. Which has her looking at the puzzle again. Something she’s also sure has something to do with all the interactions of types. Though exactly the solution here is difficult to comprehend as the tile could be placed anywhere she realizes and surrounded by any number of the others. Hm.

Sliding the fire, flying, dark and fighting tiles in front of her. She looks between them and the dragon tile on the board. A thought coming to her as she remembers that dragon is only super effective against its own type. So it wouldn’t have any green arrows in its slot, prompting her to slide it all the way into the top left corner. It’s ineffective against fairy which made sense with the red arrow, but looking at the tile below it she wasn’t convinced it made sense to put fairy there. So she moved the dragon tile over to the right by one.

She then placed a water tile below the fire one on the table, rock below flying, bug below dark, and psychic below fighting. Then placed the ice and fairy tiles above the board and the dragon tile on it. All of this helping Bo to better visualize the types and their weaknesses. Hopefully Cecil is patient as the wheels turn in her head. Bo thoughtfully tapping the ice tile and then the flying as she realizes the double weakness there. Swablu is out. She takes that ice tile and is momentarily confused. Wait are the red arrows denoting a weakness to the one it’s pointing to or the green ones? A moment of indecision and then she puts it in the spot diagonally from the dragon one with the red arrow pointing at it. Is it that one or fairy that goes there? Well it’ll be that one at least for now. That’s assuming she’s getting any of this right. She’s eyeing that bottom right corner too.

“They’re all very interesting,” she finally says aloud. “And as much as I like the idea of a fighting dragon, I may leave that for another time and take the pure dragon.”

[paladinlost]

Oh, Cecil is most certainly patient. After all, he and Rosie spent ages thinking up the puzzle, drawing a proof of concept, and working with a local artisan to create the final product. Wouldn't it be a shame if everyone solved it in mere minutes, instead of taking the time to enjoy it?

(And if he finds certain visitors' frustrated reactions amusing, well. No one needs to know.)

When Bo finally picks her Dragon-type, he merely smiles and sets the matching egg aside.

"An excellent choice. And if you'd like, I can also introduce you to Ronso, my Haxorus. That way, you'll know what to expect when the little one evolves."

The Axew to Haxorus transformation is not quite as striking as Magikarp's evolution, but who knows? Not everyone has space for a fully grown dragon.

[mywayistheway]

Bo-Katan huffs in annoyance. She thought she had this figured out but now she's not sure. Though her brows furrow in concentration, clearly determined to figure this out as she pulls over the rest of the tiles. The normal tile held between her fingers as she held it over one spot on the board, moved it to another spot, and then back again. Though at the mention of meeting his Haxorus she looked up.

"I would like that." It would give her an idea of what to expect from the little dragon that hatched out of the egg.

Her gaze then went back down to the board and the dragon and ice tiles she had on there.

"Do you have any eggs that are ice pokemon?" It made sense to her that if she had a dragon, which are weak to other dragons, that having an ice pokemon would be a good thing. She's not into cute pink things though, so fairy types aren't really up her alley.

[paladinlost]

"Excellent. Sula, would you be a dear and fetch her? Oh, and any Ice-type eggs you may find along the way."

Sula, who was staring in fascination at Bo-Katan's puzzle resolution attempt, hesitates for a moment, then nods. Fine, but she'd better not miss the good part!

That response is enough to satisfy Cecil, who turns his attention to the closest egg pile again. Ice-types, Ice-types...

"Let's see now... You'll have seven options to choose from, I believe: Alolan Vulpix, Bergmite, Cubchoo, Lapras, Sneasel, Snom, Snorunt... Ah, and Eevee, should you choose to evolve it into Glaceon."

[mywayistheway]

Sula probably wouldn’t miss much as Bo continues to puzzle over the puzzle. Putting down a few tiles before changing her mind and rearranging them.

She pauses though as Cecil lists the ice types he has. Bo frowning thoughtfully as she tried to recall if she knew any of those she came up blank. “I’ll need a description of all of those too.”

Picking up the water tile she looks at it thoughtfully before placing next to the ice tile. “It’s strange how there is a water type and an ice type. You would think they would be the same.”

[paladinlost]

"Of course. Have you seen one of the native Vulpix, by any chance? Their Alolan cousins are just as fox-like, but Ice-types instead of Fire-types, and they gain the Fairy-type upon evolving. Bergmite looks like a stout little ice spike, and may or may not gain the Rock-type upon evolving, depending on your location. Cubchoo..."

As he speaks, a Beartic pokes her head through the door. Ooooh, her trainer is talking about her babies! She waves at everyone present, then moves on, a smile on her face.

"...will not be nearly as large upon hatching, I promise you. Unlike Lapras, who do not evolve and thus are large enough to bear a person's weight from the moment they hatch. That, and their additional Water-type, makes them ideal for traveling on water routes."

As it happens, that particular egg is already in the room. He grabs it, along with–

"The local variant of Sneasel is a rare mix of Ice- and Dark-type. Extremely swift creatures, but purely physical attackers. Snom hatch as absolutely adorable caterpillars, but their evolution into proper moths is somewhat tricky. However, as they learn few moves at first, they're a very inexpensive option."

He brings back the two eggs he found, setting them carefully on the table.

"Then you have Snorunt, little shivering sprites who came visit use every January. Any of their numbers can become a Glalie, but the females can also become the half Ghost-type Froslass, with the proper stone. Finally, there's Eevee. Little Normal-type brown fox, looks deceptively plain... but it has the potential to evolve into eight different Pokémon, each with their own type. In this case, you'd want it to become a Glaceon."

He takes a moment to catch his breath, but only one, because that last comment is one of the numerous mysteries of this world.

"Considering that nearly all Water-types learn Ice-type moves, and the opposite, there's sometimes very little need to keep both on your team at once, beyond their respective defensive capacities."

[mywayistheway]

When he mentions Vulpix, Bo nods, having seen the creatures nearby in the wild. She hadn’t caught one though, instead having acquired a Meowth that tried to eat her Rowlet. The fact that there’s another variety that’s an ice type is interesting. She had yet to learn about Pokémon with different regional variants.

Going back to the puzzle as he talks, she starts fiddling with the tiles again. Gathering all the ones that are strong or weak against ice and placing them around the ice tile on the board. Moving them around as she tried to make sense of the arrows. Though she looked up when the Beartic poked her head in, her Rowlet waving a wing back at her.

All the different Pokémon that Cecil mentions are fascinating. For a few moments Bo is stumped on which one to pick. The inexpensive option is certainly appealing, though something else piques her interest too. Transport. She’s been interested in finding a Pokémon that she could ride instead of walk. Though that would be on land. This one he mentioned was for water, which she honestly hadn’t even considered yet. That could come in handy. Again are nods when he talks about the practicality of ice and water types. Also something to consider. She had neither at the moment.

Hm. Lapras was also a water type right? She moves the water tile to the spot below the dragon tile and next to ice. Yes, she thinks that one could suit her well. Her eyes also lighting up as something seems to click. Again rearranging the tiles. The fire here. Grass there. Electric below water. She might be able to figure this out after all.

“I’ll take the Lapras,” she decides as she looks up again. “With those two added to my team I think I’ll have a good start.” Not to mention he will be taking all of the money she has at the moment, but it might just be worth it.

[paladinlost]

My my my, what interesting progress! Simply staring at Bo as she works on the puzzle would be terribly rude, of course, so he has to content himself with shooting the occasional glance at the table as he stabilizes the pile of remaining eggs. Not that he could do much more anyway; he wouldn't want the little ones to fall and break, after all.

Still, his little engineering project takes up most of his attention, but not all. Thus, he immediately perks up when she announces her pick, and grabs the Sneasel egg to put it back in the pile.

"A most excellent choice! I've two Lapras of my own, a mother and daughter pair; this egg was laid by Shiva, the daughter. Her children, whether they take after her or not, have never disappointed."

None of his team's children have ever disappointed, of course, but it still needs to be said.

[mywayistheway]

It's a challenge, and Bo does like a challenge. She's determined to figure this thing out now. Having gotten fully invested. She places the earth tile next to lightening and then hums thoughtfully over the two spaces above it.

Cecil's enthusiasm over her choice gets her looking up again with interest. "Really? What's she like?" The Mandalorian content to let the fellow gush over his Pokemon while she continued to work on the puzzle. Her Rowlet even hops off her shoulder and onto the table, curiously looking at what her trainer was doing. Maybe she could help! She picks up the steel tile and offers it to Bo with a happy trill.

"Thank you, Senaar," she tells the little bird. "Ah... here?" Placing it next to the fire tile on the board she looks at the Rowlet. "What do you think?" Senaar trills happily in response!

[paladinlost]

"She's a very self-assured, stubborn young lady who resists all attempts at manipulation. Why, when her own parents asked her to pick a side during one of their arguments, she simply pushed them both into the nearest pond!"

There's undeniable pride in his voice, with a drop of amusement. And why not? As far as he's concerned, the ability to tell when one's parents are wrong and must be ignored is a useful skill. Even if that one incident did flood half the garden.

"A friend of mine had actually bought her egg, years ago, but when she left... well. Shiva's here, now. And to be honest, I think she takes very strongly after her initial trainer."

Distantly, outside the room, two pairs of steps approach.

[mywayistheway]

“She sounds like my kind of girl,” Bo-Katan says with a smirk. She likes the sound of this Lapras and hopes her child does take after her, at least a little bit.

Senaar then bumps a flying tile towards Bo with her beak. The Mandalorian it up and giving the little owl an amused look. “Can’t forget about this one, can we?” She hummed as she considered the board and placed it next to ice, then placed the rock tile beneath that.

That’s when she heard the footsteps approaching and paused with the puzzle to turn and look. Senaar also tilting her head curiously as they waited to see who was coming.

[paladinlost]

"Much like people, Pokémon do not always inherit their parents' personalities, but surely such a pre-natal influence cannot hurt."

Cecil very deliberately ignores the fact that the closest current pre-natal influence is very much not the happy mother. Enthusiasm for puzzle is a nice trait to have too, right?

And so are... whatever Sula and the Pokémon that follows her have to offer, too.

"Ah, Ronso. Your child has found a new home, so please come say hello!"

His enthusiasm is only matched by the waving Haxorus at the door. Hello! :D

[mywayistheway]

That's a fair statement, and being raised by Bo rather than her parents would certainly be an influence. A good one, she hopes.

When the Haxorus appears though, Bo-Katan is visibly stunned, her breath taken away by the sight of the creature. "She looks like a mythosaur." This said mostly to herself, while Senaar follows her gaze and blinks curiously at the words.

"What a stunning creature, she is." That directed more towards Cecil and his pokemon.

[paladinlost]

"A mythosaur?"

The word means nothing to either Cecil or Ronso, but as it is followed by 'stunning', both independently assume that it is a compliment. Ronso's waving becomes even more lively, if that's even possible, while Cecil's smile grows wider.

"She truly is impressive, is she not? And that impressiveness extends to battle, to her everlasting pleasure. She lives for a good fight."

[mywayistheway]

Right, of course. He wouldn't know what that is.

"A creature of particular significance to my people," she explains while tapping her right pauldron with its signet. "Once thought to only exist in legend." Clearly that's somehow changed. The two beasts aren't quite the same, but close enough for there to be a resemblance.

Actually moving away from the table with the puzzle to approach the Haxorus, Bo-Katan smiles with a bit of awe. "Hello, Ronso," she greets the Pokemon.