001. video;

[championbound]

[ Well, here's a familiar face! Green manages to grace the PokeConnect with her presence, even in the midst of all of this havoc, and...she's got a tan, it looks like? ]

Alola, friends! Green here! To those of you who are new here, I hope you guys are all faring well in our weird little weekend! Don't worry, this happens every year! Once you're with us for a while, you get used to it! It'll pass, I promise! And to all of our newcomers, I hope you guys choose to stick around!

I, myself, managed to time coming back from my vacation just right for this! If you guys have never been to Alola, let me tell you, it is great! Melemele is beautiful! And everyone there is so friendly!

But while I was there, I was taking notes on how we could make our wonderful Johto and Kanto even cooler, because they have some really neat ideas down there! And one of them is this baby right here!

[ She shows off a little green remote! It doesn't look like much, but... ]

So this is what they call a Ride Pager. People in Alola have them, and they're all the rage down there! No more having to teach your Pokemon HM moves to get across water or to fly around! Need to get someplace quick?

[ With just a push of a button and a little bit of time, a Tauros comes barreling over! ]

Good boy, Tauros~! And when you want to fly to somewhere you've been before...

[ Another button brings out a Charizard, sent right to her location! ]

Cool, right?! When we roll out these bad boys, the long and short of it is, you'll be able to press a button and be put in a queue to rent a Pokemon League-issued Pokemon for a short period of time! That Pokemon is specifically trained to perform an HM move, or something like one, and for the duration of your rental, you can use that Pokemon and its HM move as much as you'd like! It's basically a subscription service that gives you full access to an arsenal of convenient moves at your leisure! And the best part is, these Pokemon don't count towards the six in your party! When you're done with them or your time is up, just put them back in their Poke Ball and they'll be sent right back to us!

We're hoping to roll out Ride Pagers, and the PokeRide system, at the end of the month on November 30th, and most Pokemarts will stock them, so feel free to get your hands on them the second they hit stores! It'll cost P10000 to get one, and then P100 each time you rent a Pokemon for an hour, so it's pretty affordable option, especially for people who don't have the Gym Badge for the HM move that they want!

Anyway, that's enough from my cute mug! If you guys have any questions about the system, feel free to hit me up with them! ...Or, if you want to ask me how my vacation was, or if I met any cute boys over there, I mean, I'll take that, too!

Comments

Video

[dreamsofahero]

An interesting system, and certainly useful for anyone who doesn't train pokemon, but doesn't it seem a little impersonal to be relying on ones you haven't raised yourself?

*he can't imagine not using his partners for travel, with as much time as he's spent wandering Johto and Kanto...*

[championbound]

Well, of course it's no substitute for actually raising the Pokemon yourself! But there are plenty of people who aren't interested in the Gym challenge that just want to explore, and people who want to get around but don't have the HM that they need. Or even people who get stuck somewhere because they're travelling around and say, "Oh, man, I forgot to bring my Pokemon that knows Strength!" or something like that! This is totally aimed to them!

[dreamsofahero]

I suppose that's true, though I can't say I've ever heard of it being a problem. As I recall, those people classified as breeders don't need to win the badges to use those moves, and trainers by and large seem intent on challenging the gyms anyway.

Or at the least, by the time most people decide to settle down, they've usually already tried a gym or two, from what I've observed.

[championbound]

That's certainly true! It's mostly just meant to be a convenience thing. I'm sure there's a niche for it somewhere, especially considering it should take at least a few months to have Pokemon strong enough to take on gym battles!

Really, I just thought it'd be cool. Everyone in Alola has one of these, so I figured it was time we got with the times!

[video]

[captainash]

So, how was your vacation? Is the weather in Alola nice enough to be worth visiting until mid-March or so? ...Where's Alola, anyway?

[championbound]

Oh, it was phenomenal! I wish I could've gotten to see the other three islands, but I only got to visit Melemele. Still, it was a beautiful place, and the weather is perfect! Sunny as can be, even now in November! The only thing is, there's a twelve-hour time difference, so I'm still dealing with a little bit of the jetlag...I'm trying my best to catch up on sleep, but, I could hardly rest! I was just so excited!

You should go visit, if you have the time and the bling-bling to spare for a plane ticket out there. It's really quite marvelous, and the Pokemon! It's a little while off the Unovan coastline..

But, in the interest of being transparent, I will say that there are parts of Kanto that aren't too dissimilar from it. We've had them closed off for a time, but...

Well, look forward to an announcement tomorrow, and you might just have a new idea for a vacation spot.

[captainash]

Twelve hours? Wow, no wonder the tickets are expensive. I hope you've planned a few days of relaxation, or else the jetlag combined with the lessened sunlight are going to wreck your energy levels.

...You know, it's been a while since I visited Kanto. Or took a vacation, for that matter. Guess I'll have to pay a lot of attention to the network tomorrow, then.

[championbound]

My energy levels are nearly infinite, trust me! It's like I have a Pikachu shocking me 24/7!

But trust me, we've got something in the works for you. Something pretty big. We've just been trying to get it ready for the past couple of months, so it's been a bit of a secret project of ours. But you're gonna like it, if you're looking forward to some fun in the sun.

Video;

[schachmeister]

[That would be a very handy system. A pretty steep price though.]

Would it be possible for a group of people to chip in and get a Ride Pager together?

[championbound]

If you're travelling in a group with someone, of course it would be possible for everyone to share a Ride Pager! You can only register it under one person's name, though, just for convenience's sake. Which means you can only rent out one Pokemon at a time. Other than that, though, go nuts!

[schachmeister]

[Ah. Armin is definitely going to have to bully tenderly suggest getting one of these to his friends then. If only to speed up the process when someone else they know turns up.]

That's reasonable, thank you.

Another question, if you don't mind. How do we visit this Alola region? I'd love to see it with my own eyes.

video;

[bertall]

<sub>[So expensive... Maybe he should try taking on the gyms himself? Though that'd really only be for flying around on, right? If he evolved his Growlithe, then...

Ah!]</sub>

...What if we had a Pokemon big enough to ride around like that Tauros? Could we get harnesses like that made for ours?

[championbound]

[ Man, if people think this is pricey, they should see how much shoes cost in Alola... ]

Oh, you mean like for a Rapidash or something! You can actually find those already in places like Goldenrod's Department Store, if you'd like to ride your Pokemon around to get to places faster than you would on foot! They aren't custom-made, I'm afraid, but you can certainly do that, if you'd like!

[bertall]

_{[He cringes at some of the prices of sweaters in some stores. What is cashmere?]}

What about for an... Arcanine, I think? I have a Growlithe, but I think he's supposed to get really big when he evolves.

_{[And speaking of evolution and Marcel getting bigger...]}

They'll get along with our own Pokemon too, right?

Video

[tearsofademon]

Where the hell is this "Alola" place people keep mentioning...?

Re: Video

[championbound]

It's a little bit off the Unovan coast! Maybe I'll do my best to make sure you all get to see it someday. I'll have to pull some strings, but...

Video

[tearsofademon]

Uh huh. So, is there a particular reason why none of the maps in the libraries even mention it?

video;

[armoredsoul]

Wow, that is really convenient! I can think of a lot of ways it would be useful even for those of us with the badges and HMs.

[Like, say, when these crazy weekends dump you in the middle of the woods with none of your usual team on hand to get back home...]

I don't think I've ever heard about the Alola region before. Must be somewhere pretty sunny!

Re: video;

[championbound]

[ Oh, another cutie! She wants to pinch his cheeks! ]

It's just one way we're trying to make people's lives a little bit easier! We'll be doing our best to roll out a few more quality-of-life changes too here and there, so, keep your eyes peeled as we work on that!

Alola actually just became a new region recently! It's made up of four islands: Melemele, Akala, Ula'Ula, and Poni Island! I only got to see Melemele myself, but it was beautiful! Maybe next time, you can be my +1~?

video;

[armoredsoul]

I'm glad to hear it, though it must be a lot of work for you all! I'll definitely have an ear out for that.

[Wait--wait, hold on, is she really--oh jeez. What do.]

I--um, well! I, um, I don't--uh, I mean!! That sounds like it'd be pretty fun!

[HELP HE CAN'T STOP BLUSHING]

[Video]

[cyan_maid]

[Huh. This girl...kind of talks like she's used to this place, and talking to the folks who've fallen into being here. But at the same time, she's bringing up a lot of weird things that Jane definitely wants to know about.]

Excuse me, miss, but - this Alola place. How did you get there?

[championbound]

I took the short way and flew out there via private jet from the Indigo Plateau, where I live, but usually getting there is a pretty big process, since Johto doesn't have an airport. You have to usually take a boat out to Unova, and catch a plane out of Mistralton City...it's a very exhausting trip, and it can be pretty expensive!

[cyan_maid]

Do you, erm, know why Johto doesn't have an airport?

[Also where even the heck is Unova to start with]

Audio

[seasalthands]

So. Let me get this right. I already have a Lapras. And you people want me to buy this expensive pass so I can ride a different Lapras? Am I understanding this correctly?

See. When I see scams like this it makes me feel like I'm back at home.

[championbound]

And a Tauros, and a Charizard, and a Machamp, and a Stoutland, and a Sharpedo, among others.

No one's stopping you from riding your Lapras, sir. But other people don't have Laprases! They're fairly rare, so I'm sure most people would enjoy the opportunity to ride one. And even if you do already have a Lapras, there are many Pokemon available with the service that you may not already own!

Of course, if you don't want it, you don't have to buy it! It's not mandatory in the slightest!