You'll need a few of those stronger ones- a few centerpieces. You're not going to be able to use the same Pokemon for a challenger with no badge as you do a challenger with seven; you'll need… three, probably. Zero-badge, one-badge, two-badge; three-badge, four-badge, five-badge; six-badge, seven-badge. That sounds good.
Yamask is our centerpiece for 0, 1, and 2 badge challenges, Golurk for 3, 4, and 5 badge. Mamoswine (who's probably a league loan) is 6 and 7 badge. Presumably, Trevenant and Phantump are some of our non-centerpieces. The geodudes to our Centrepiece's Onix, if you will.
Which is where the argument that this is about which problem we choose to exist comes from. All of these pokemon are leaving, so why would we only be dealing with one issue instead of all of them? Elements of them relevant to the pokemon might remain (Golurks obedience, Trevenant being biased in favour of grass types, the Yamask variants being at odds), but the specific issues themselves probably wouldn't.
I mean, we're removing Galarian Yamask and Golurk either way:
Yamask is our centerpiece for 0, 1, and 2 badge challenges, Golurk for 3, 4, and 5 badge. Mamoswine (who's probably a league loan) is 6 and 7 badge. Presumably, Trevenant and Phantump are some of our non-centerpieces. The geodudes to our Centrepiece's Onix, if you will.
Which is where the argument that this is about which problem we choose to exist comes from. All of these pokemon are leaving, so why would we only be dealing with one issue instead of all of them? Elements of them relevant to the pokemon might remain (Golurks obedience, Trevenant being biased in favour of grass types, the Yamask variants being at odds), but the specific issues themselves probably wouldn't.
That marks five Pokemon you've caught now. Three Pokemon you can use against challengers with low numbers of badges, and two you can use against middling challengers, you think. One of the Yamask you'd found earlier had been decently strong compared to the others- not powerful enough to evolve into Cofagrigus just yet, but still strong enough to be a threat even to a challenger with four badges, by your estimation. He and the Trevenant you'd just captured will prove fairly potent threats. The variant Yamask seems particularly skilled, as well- perhaps not quite as strong as the strongest regular Yasmask, but with a substantially broader skillset that leaves you wondering what its life had been like to leave it knowing how to fight so well. She'll make for a good centerpiece, something for the rest of your low-strength team to anchor around.
[X] While tending to the Phantump and Trevenant you'd spotted in their copse of trees, you're informed of an existential threat to their continued existence in the Graveyard. A family of Simi-evolutions have moved in, and their dysfunctions threaten the ecosystem of the rest of the graveyard.
[ ] While talking to the Golurk and Golett building their strange sculpture of bone-and-stone, you notice a strange tendency for a band of nearby Morelull to move in and press the Golurk into gathering food for them. They do so without complaint.
Convincing many of the Pokemon you'd met yesterday to follow you now is actually quite a simple process.
It's not for any silly reasons like the strength you could potentially offer them, or their innate desire to battle compelling them to follow your lead for the conflicts you might lead them into. There's quite a few trainers who can convince Pokemon to follow their lead for reasons like that, but not you.
No, you can convince them to follow you for an eminently more practical reason: you can afford to buy them food so they can eat on a regular basis.
This is the truth you're noticing of the Desert Graveyard: despite the Ocean Stone providing the graveyard with water enough to sustain a semblance of life amidst the harsh heat of the desert sun, there is still only so much that it can do. The lake itself lies open to the skies above, meaning that through the day, much of it simply evaporates away; and there are precious few types of trees which can survive the combination of the ambient heat of the days, and the freezing temperatures of the nights here.
One of the most important things for an ecosystem to thrive is biodiversity. A wide variety of life is needed to sustain an ecosystem; from the smallest creatures at the very bottom of the food web, bacteria and the billions of tiny insects that roam the soil, to the tallest trees, to the most dangerous predators that stalk its grounds, an ecosystem is something that needs tens of thousands of different lifeforms to sustain itself.
This boneyard has that, but it's precarious. It's limited in how far it can grow and sustain itself by that key component of life: water. That means, inherently, there is only so much plant life that can grow in the area, which means there is only so much food to go around. That means there are only so many herbivores that can live here, which in turns mean there are only so many predators that can sustain themselves; should the balance tip too far in any direction, starvation will ensue, and populations will fall back to sustainable levels.
That, of course, relies upon there being a way for plants to re-grow once they're stripped to their roots. That would be your biggest concern in such a scenario- should there be too many herbivores around, they may strip back the plant-life of the area so far that it cannot effectively regrow, causing the ecosystem to pass a critical failure point.
Regardless, you're getting somewhat sidetracked in your own mind. Your broad point is this: there's scarcely enough food available in the boneyards to feed the population that currently exists, and that's not going to change without some huge effort of intervention you aren't certain should be done.
This means that convincing most of the Pokemon you'd mentally tagged is simple. Communication can sometimes be a minor difficulty, but that just lets you use the situation as a teaching opportunity for Juliet.
"You see," you say quietly, "the trees around them are an extension of their body language. The way they're shaking, you can tell that he's riled up. Temperature hasn't dropped either, so he's not pulling on any Ghost-type energies. Which means…" You trail off, gesturing towards her.
"That… it's not a threat display?" she replies dubiously- only for the Phantump to launch itself towards her, trilling. The Trevenant also nods, its eye crinkled into something you think is intended to mimic a human smile. "Right! Definitely not a threat display. That means it's… happy with the offer?"
You hum. The skin of the Rawst berries you'd offered to the Trevenant still lie on the ground beside it, discarded haphazardly in its eagerness to dig into the bitter fruit within. "Seems so. Can always just ask, though. Hey, little one- you happy to come along with us?" You crouch down so you're not looming over the Phantump, who's small enough it doesn't even come up to your knees.
Phantump burbles with excitement, then zooms over so she can spin small circles around the Trevenant, who watches her with an impassive expression. The trees around all lean in closer, though. Juliet giggles next to you, watching the excited Pokemon spin before you hold out two Pokeballs towards the two Pokemon.
You don't attempt the capture yourself; you wait for the Phantump to come over and bump the Pokeball, getting herself captured in a flash of red light. Only once she's securely inside do you point the other Pokeball at the Trevenant, waiting a long moment in case it offers any resistance before you gently toss it at the tree-like Pokemon, absorbing it in another flash of red.
Then, finally, you stand again, giving a considering look down at the two Pokeballs in your hand now.
That marks five Pokemon you've caught now. Three Pokemon you can use against challengers with low numbers of badges, and two you can use against middling challengers, you think. One of the Yamask you'd found earlier had been decently strong compared to the others- not powerful enough to evolve into Cofagrigus just yet, but still strong enough to be a threat even to a challenger with four badges, by your estimation. He and the Trevenant you'd just captured will prove fairly potent threats. The variant Yamask seems particularly skilled, as well- perhaps not quite as strong as the strongest regular Yamask, but with a substantially broader skillset that leaves you wondering what its life had been like to leave it knowing how to fight so well.
There's a polite cough next to you, and you look over at Juliet, who's looking at you with her eyebrows raised. "So, uh," she says, glancing awkwardly around the graveyard. "Have I passed your test yet, or what?"
You blink, long and slow. "I didn't bring you down here to test you." Kind of, sort of. This had been an interview, not a test, but you understand the distinction might seem academic. "Your performance has been solid."
She blinks herself, flushes. "Oh! Uh. Uhh. I was more wondering how much longer we're going to be down here. I told one of the maids where I was going, but she only works the late shift, so if we're going to be down here for too much longer I need to let her know, otherwise she'll think I got kidnapped." She blushes a little harder, looking down at her feet.
You lift one of your shoulders in some kind of pathetic attempt at a half-shrug. "One more group to go," you state blandly. "Not sure how long this'll take. Let her know, if you're worried."
"Right…" Juliet slips her phone out of pocket and fiddles with it for a few moments before slipping it back away and giving you a determined nod. "Okay. I'm good. Where are we going next?"
You turn and stride away, the girl falling in place beside you a moment later. You think your words through, trying to figure out how to get your words across. "There's a group of Golett ahead," you say eventually, causing her to look curiously over towards you. "Saw them last time I was here. Good opportunity to study them for a bit before trying to capture them. Haven't found any in the wild before, so I think it's a good opportunity to see what we can learn about them beforehand."
She stares at you for a moment, taken aback by the torrent of information she'd given you, before she nods and rubs her chin thoughtfully. "Right. Golett. Those are those Unovan Pokemon, right? One of their Elite Four has one, I think- Shauntal?"
"She has a Golurk," you correct instinctively. "Golett's their pre-evolution. Otherwise correct, though. You watch a lot of battles from Unova?"
Juliet's face flushes Cheri-red. "Not really," she hedges. "Just a few of them. Shauntal, mostly. Ghost solidarity, right?" She flashes you a nervous grin, which you acknowledge with a tilt of your head, causing her grin to grow a little more confident. "And Caitlin, when she fights. Her Metagross is so cool! It's so hard to raise them, but she's done such a good job! Oh, and Elesa, too! She's really- I mean, uh, her Pokemon are really strong too!"
You side-eye her, causing her to let out a little 'eep!' and look down at the floor, the flush on her face somehow growing even brighter. After a moment, you look back ahead, your face neutral. "Shauntal is a good writer," you say after a moment. Juliet looks up at that, curiosity writ across her face, but you don't acknowledge it. "Bigger fan of Lorelei myself."
"Lorelei?" She looks confused for a moment, lost in thought, before she snaps her fingers. "Oh! That's, uh. Johto, right?"
You raise an eyebrow at her, and she wilts immediately. "She was from the Indigo League," you reply, perhaps a little forcefully. There is no Kanto and Johto League; that's knowledge you'd honestly assumed was just common knowledge. "Though she retired a couple of years ago. She's…" You catch yourself for a minute. That's classified actually, isn't it? Then again, Juliet's one of your League Trainers now; she might not have signed her paperwork now, but that's just a little formality. "She's working with a former contender from the Indigo Conference now. Trying to establish the Sevii Islands as an independent region in its own right."
Juliet blinks, then pales a little as what you'd informed her of sinks in. "That sounds complicated," she tries weakly. "What are the Sevii Islands?"
Considering it for a moment, you elect instead to just shrug. "I can fill you in later if you're interested. We're here."
You've elected to lead the two of you to a small hill, a short distance away from the sandy area the Golett and Golurk are working in. They can see you here, you're pretty sure, but you're far enough away that it's not a disturbance to them. You settle in, sitting down on the driest patch of sand you can find and patting the ground for your Gym Trainer to sit beside you, which she obediently does.
The two of you watch the Golett work for a few moments. They're pottering around their same patch of dirt as last time, working under the direction of the larger Golurk- or you think so, at least, you can't actually interpret their words from back here.
You sit in companionable silence for about ten minutes watching them work before you notice something different happen. One of the Golett is tottering around the edge of the dirt patch, manipulating the ground between it, when another Pokemon approaches; a Morelull, soft light shining from it as it totters forward. It moves towards the Golett, and you can very faintly hear the sound of the two Pokemon talking. Then, the Golett turns and totters off away from its dirt patch, returning just minutes later with a large bundle of flowers in its hands.
The Morelull takes them, then lifts them to its mouth- but doesn't eat them. Instead, it seems to watch them, empty eyes staring at them- and before your eyes, the flowers start to wither, then crumble, until eventually they simply fall apart in its hand. Only once the final pieces fall from its hand does it look up at the Golett again, saying something which causes the Golett to turn away, moving back to its field.
Both you and Juliet remain silent as another Morelull totters over towards them, passing the first on the way. Another Golett is silently approached, and the process begins again.
You draw your knees up to your chest, stretching your neck forward a bit so you can rest your chin on them. "Okay," you say finally, breaking the near half-hour stretch of silence that had fallen between the two of you. You'd worried that Juliet might actually have fallen asleep, but she appears as alert as you are still. Good. "Have you seen enough of them to make a call yet?"
It's fairly obvious to you, but you want to see how she views this situation. Things like this are going to be partially her responsibility in the next few months.
What you see is this:
The Golett are extremely well-natured Pokemon. They have seemingly no objections to being asked to do things, which honestly scares you a little; can they actually give any meaningful kind of consent to being captured, or will they just accept it because you're asking it of them?
Morelull, you know from experience, are the mirror to Parasect. Some researchers have argued that the mushrooms that grow from a Paras' back are a subspecies of Morelull, grown small and attached themselves permanently to the other species so they can draw vitality from them forevermore. They're awful, parasitic creatures, draining from the world around them its very essence to sustain themselves. They're the worst parts of nature.
Things like this aren't… new. You're aware enough of that. Even amongst Pokemon, there are always those who are willing to take advantage of others to enrich themselves. This is, perhaps, the most important truth you have ever learned about Pokemon; they are, at their core, no different than humans.
You turn your head to look at Juliet, raising an eyebrow. You'd kind of expected her to interrupt your mental digression there.
But she's just watching the Golett potter around the field, eternally constructing their odd little building.
"I think," she begins, "that those are some of the sweetest Morelull I've ever seen."
Bafflement.
Complete and total bafflement.
She must see it writ across your face, because her face spasms in something like a combination of exasperation and a worried flinch all at once. Her words are hurried as she tries to clarify; "No, I mean- really-"
Something heavy is sitting in your gut, and you can feel your facial muscles trying to wrench themselves up into a harsh sneer, but no; you are better than to show your ugliness to a child. "Oh?" you say as mildly as you can. Not very. Hopefully it's the thought that counts. "Walk me through your thought process."
Juliet exhales, a sharp sigh of relief that has you very glad you're still holding that venom in at the back of your throat, and she gestures at the Golett. "Well- um. At first, I thought it was pretty obvious. The Golett are just wandering around, doing their thing, and the Morelull… But then I thought, um. Sorry. Can you, uh- do you want me to stop?"
You run your hand over your face, smoothing it over, and take in a deep breath. In, out. In, out. Patience.
Your heart settles down after a moment, and you wave to her. "Go on." Your voice is a little rougher than normal now, but you just turn your attention back to the Golett, turning your face away from Juliet in the process.
"Are you sure?" She hesitates still, but you wave your hand at her, and she takes a deep breath after a moment before continuing on shakily. "Right. Well. For a while, I thought that the Morelull might have just been taking advantage of the Golett. They're… maybe not friendly little creatures, but they're definitely agreeable. But I tried watching them, and… did you notice that they're not actually building anything?"
She leans forward at that, pointing, and after considering it for a moment, you also take another look at the group.
It takes a few moments for you to notice, but- she's right. Honestly- no, you're not going to be dishonest. You do know how you'd missed it; you just hadn't thought to look at what they're actually doing. You'd seen the Golett walking around the patch of dirt, raising earth from the ground below and patting their little sculpture, but they're not…
They're not doing anything. They're just… moving around, drifting aimlessly on the wind. Performing the same damned actions they've been performing for years on end. Pointless. Purposeless. Moving just for movement's sake. Like they know, like they know that if they stop moving, stop doing the same repetitive and useless things they've done for the past six years, they're going to collapse into a little pile of cold rubble.
You watch a Golett walk over to the little sculpture. It places its hands on the sculpture. Wipes its hand over it, up, down, up, down. Dust that hasn't had the time to even fall on it yet is wiped off. It turns, walks over to a patch of disturbed dirt. The earth rumbles; Golett reaches down, mixes the soil together, lifts up a clump. Walks. Little feet tread forth; clod, clod, clod. It stops. The disturbed earth moves again; it places the clump of clay back down. You watch a Golett walk over to the little sculpture, place its hands on the sculpture, wipe it over. Up, down, up, down. It turns, walks over to a patch of disturbed dirt. The earth rumbles-
There's a squeak, so soft you can barely hear it from here, and the Golett pauses. Looks up. There's a Morelull there. It exchanges soft words with the Golett; the Golett stands, motionless. Thinks. Looks down at the patch of disturbed soil. Looks back up at the Morelull.
It nods, and walks away from the patch of dirt. Its shoulders sag a little. It looks like just being around the Morelull makes it feel exhausted, like some of the Morelull's hunger has been passed to it.
"Right," you say out loud finally. "I get it now."
Juliet hunches over a little, but offers you an awkward smile as she does so. "Right," she says, and looks back down at the Golett. "Well. I know that you're not interested in capturing the Morelull, so let's just ignore them. The Golett, uh."
She takes a moment, centers herself, then straightens back up and continues, her voice regaining the same confidence from earlier.
"They're interesting Pokemon. I don't think it's worth the time to discuss whether they might accept being captured or not; the only concern there is if the Morelull try to interfere, but they don't look strong enough to worry me, and if they don't worry me they definitely won't worry a Gym Leader. They can walk faster than the Golett, anyway, and the only Pokemon nearby that might worry them is that Noctowl waiting on the branch. They could go in groups, though, and I don't think it would attack a whole group of Grass-types who might be able to paralyze or poison it. It's been watching them too cautiously. I don't think they actually need the Golett to get them food."
Your eyes flick over to the Noctowl, then the nest sitting two branches above it in the tree. An egg twitches in the nest, and you hum in acknowledgement. If the Noctowl had a baby Hoothoot, then it might have tried for something to feed its baby with; but with an egg to protect, you don't think it would even try for a lone Morelull.
Mostly, you agree with her assessment. Froslass could deal with the group of Morelull in a single attack, probably. You don't think it will even come to that, though- not if your newfound suspicions are right.
Juliet continues, "They seem relatively skilled. I've seen wild Sandslash that have more trouble manipulating the ground than most of those Golett, and the Golurk seems even better at it- it doesn't even have to move to help the Golett if they move to a bit of ground that hasn't been disturbed for a while. They haven't demonstrated any Ghost-type energies yet; I can't say anything about their ghostly side, sorry."
You hum. "Don't apologize," you say reassuringly. "They are Ghost-types, but you might consider them more like Flamigo. They don't fit the mould."
She blinks, then smiles at you, this one wider and less worried. You give her a nod, then uncurl yourself from the ground, stretching slightly to work out the soreness in your muscles that comes with sitting on the hard ground for so long.
"Well," you say once the two of you have finished stretching, "Let's go finish up for the night, then."
Your prediction turns out to be accurate. The Morelull don't try to interfere with your capture at all- though several of them do line up at the edges of the dirt patch, a few hundred metres away. You can feel their empty eyes on you as you bend down in front of the Pokemon, seeking their permission to capture them.
Exactly as predicted, they don't raise any objections to your capturing of them. Some sinking part of you worries if they can raise any objections to you taking them.
Something to keep in mind. You're going to have to be careful what you ask of them. You're pretty sure any of them would work themselves to death without an inkling of hesitation if you asked them to.
That finally wraps up your expedition. Parting with Juliet involves minimal formalities; you walk her back to her house in Halley, offer her your hand, and tell her to meet you at the League office in town a week from now to meet her other colleagues. Any further paperwork will be emailed to her at the address listed on her resume.
It's not an involved conversation. Now that you're out of the Graveyard itself, both of you are starting to crash. It's near three in the morning at this point, and while Juliet is going to be able to sleep in, you aren't. You actually have something important to deal with later today:
It's time for your first fortnightly Gym Leader meeting.
Your mind is spinning as you make your way home, tossing your keys on the counter and carefully placing your newly-acquired Pokemon into the case you'd obtained from the League office earlier this week. You'd left it on the counter so it would be one of the first things you'd see when you got home. Thanks, Past Morgan, finally you did something worthwhile.
All the energy has leeched out of your body. Interesting; you'd anticipated that the graveyard would leave you more energized, not less. Those conversations must have taken more out of you than you realized. You glance over towards the coffee machine, but- no. You should probably try to get some sleep before dawn.
Even the couch seems so far away. You slide down to the ground, leaning against the counter, and sigh.
Two flashes of red light, and you release Rowlet and Froslass. Froslass floats above you for a moment, looking down at you with a soft look on her face; then she looks down at Rowlet, who immediately snuggles into your chest, purring as you reach up and pat him.
That's how you fall asleep; Rowlet in your arms, Froslass floating protectively in front of you, and plans and awful worries about today's meeting swirling through your head.
The meeting will go fine, probably. You've written your reports. It's fine. It'll be fine. It will go fine.
Sleep overtakes you, and you fade mercifully into blackness.
[ ] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Eloise, the Gym Leader of Emerald City.
Ah, Emerald City. That most beautiful jewel of the south, the bastion of culture and acceptance within Laurum. The twisted heart of the country; blood-red and beautiful on the outside, and inside a rotted and blackened mess. It is the most central part of Laurum, the land through which all must pass to follow through the footsteps of the ancients and participate in the League Circuit.
Emerald City, as they say, is the multicultural heart of Laurum. Azur may be the land's premier tourist destination, but Emerald City is the home of the Pokemon League in Laurum; it is the place which puts forth its face and proclaims its welcome to all who might listen. Everyone born outside the country travels here each year to sign up for the circuit; all those like you, those hard-eyed outsiders distrusted by the natural-born population of the country, are watched from here.
This is what you know is going to happen: You are going to gather all the information you can on every outsider entering this country who might possibly make their way to Halley, and Eloise is going to loathe you for it. You are that same thing they proclaim to love while hatred festers in their hearts; you are an outsider, come to tear down the edifices she has dedicated her life to building. She's a forward thinker, a woman who intends to drag Laurum's dying spirit forward with her every step of the way; but you are a dead person walking, the only thing in this country that can bare your fangs at her and drag her dreams to your level.
[ ] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Daphne, the Gym Leader of Twin Peaks.
Twin mountains split the air here, spires of stone and snow lancing forth from the earth as though once it had planned to pierce the very heavens themselves. A city in two halves spans these peaks; ropes and paths and stone structures defying the physical laws of this world stretch across, building bridges across the two disparate halves of this town, this place of the frontiers that marks the split in the continent itself.
Twin Peaks is neither the most esoteric place in the country, nor is it the most twisted; but it bears the unwanted title of being the strangest city within the region. It is a liminal place, a place of changes and transitions where the land itself shifts and churns. It is a place of unsurety; none here know what is to come in the coming weeks, or where things will settle. This, you know, is the place where the strange and wonderful dwell.
This is what you know is going to happen: You are going to gather all the information you can on every weird and twisted person that has wandered through this liminal zone, every person with shifting eyes and terrifying expressions and Pokeballs that emit from them awful auras, and Daphne is going to fear you for it. You are an intense and aggressive person, and Daphne is in a precarious spot; like the land around her, she is unsure of her place in the world, unsure of what she would be doing- but here you are, someone in this strange and unfamiliar land, brimming with confidence and self-assured plans that will tear her down incidentally and there is nothing she can do about it.
[ ] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Antonio, the Gym Leader of Torne.
Four hundred years ago, settlers from ancient Paldaea sailed around the world, looking for new lands to settle. They found the coasts of Laurum, and moved to declare it territory; but when they set foot on land, they were met with unexpected opposition by the indigenous populations, for Laurum's people have lived here for thousands of years and will live here for thousands of years more. They are a proud and powerful people, and they claimed this land as theirs. Then the second wave of settlers came from the east, this time from Galar; and history, as they say, is history, written in the blood of the vanquished.
This is Torne: The desert city of the west, home to the remnants of a hundred tribes and more of Laurum's indigenous peoples who survived and fought back against the settlers from Galar. Two hundred years and more have passed, and the two disparate populations have found their footing together, though tensions remain still. It is a land of the strong and the fierce; the currency here is strength and victory, and only those who can tear others down and take their place can hope to find their fortune here.
This is what you know is going to happen: You are going to gather all the information you can on every powerful trainer in Laurum. Every person who has spent time training here; every person who beat Torne's gyms and took from them a badge declaring their victory; every person who competed in and won one of Torne's grand tournaments. You're going to tear all of this information away from Antonio, such that you can prepare to crush any challenger who thinks to bring brute strength to bypass your challenge, and he is going to consider you weak and pitiful for it.
[X] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Antonio, the Gym Leader of Torne.
Eloise is... I'm not really feeling the misunderstanding that would come from that meeting. Daphne just makes me sad and I don't want to do that to her. But Antonio.
You're going to tear all of this information away from Antonio, such that you can prepare to crush any challenger who thinks to bring brute strength to bypass your challenge, and he is going to consider you weak and pitiful for it.
[X] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Eloise, the Gym Leader of Emerald City.
Fuck Eloise. Daphne is dealign with some bullshit, and Antonio's pride is the result of colonialist bullshit. Eloise meanwhile, I'm reading as someone who resents the fact that someone is doing things in a way that isn't what she likes.
Admittedly Tempera's earlier words are influencing me, and I doubt any of these people are significantly worse or better than anyone else. But something about Eloise rankles me fierce because she doesn't see to have the excuse that either of the others has.
[X] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Eloise, the Gym Leader of Emerald City.
[X] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Daphne, the Gym Leader of Twin Peaks.
A creepy liminal space? Being perceived as a terrible force that will trample plans and plots even incidentally? Something that might get us somewhere there's actual snow within the foreseeable future?
Heck yeah.
[X] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Daphne, the Gym Leader of Twin Peaks.
Twin mountains split the air here, spires of stone and snow lancing forth from the earth as though once it had planned to pierce the very heavens themselves. A city in two halves spans these peaks; ropes and paths and stone structures defying the physical laws of this world stretch across, building bridges across the two disparate halves of this town, this place of the frontiers that marks the split in the continent itself.
Twin Peaks is neither the most esoteric place in the country, nor is it the most twisted; but it bears the unwanted title of being the strangest city within the region. It is a liminal place, a place of changes and transitions where the land itself shifts and churns. It is a place of unsurety; none here know what is to come in the coming weeks, or where things will settle. This, you know, is the place where the strange and wonderful dwell.
This is what you know is going to happen: You are going to gather all the information you can on every weird and twisted person that has wandered through this liminal zone, every person with shifting eyes and terrifying expressions and Pokeballs that emit from them awful auras, and Daphne is going to fear you for it. You are an intense and aggressive person, and Daphne is in a precarious spot; like the land around her, she is unsure of her place in the world, unsure of what she would be doing- but here you are, someone in this strange and unfamiliar land, brimming with confidence and self-assured plans that will tear her down incidentally and there is nothing she can do about it
[X] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Eloise, the Gym Leader of Emerald City.
[X] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Daphne, the Gym Leader of Twin Peaks.
A creepy liminal space? Being perceived as a terrible force that will trample plans and plots even incidentally? Something that might get us somewhere there's actual snow within the foreseeable future?
[X] Tomorrow, you're going to talk to Antonio, the Gym Leader of Torne.
While I actually find Emerald City and Twin Peaks more interesting as locations, I'm drawn to the motivation in going to Torne and what info we're getting from Antonio. Seeing as how we appear to be atypical for a Gym Leader and want to impart a lesson, I think it makes sense to get intel on anyone who might try to just brute force their way through. If Antonio has a problem with that I think it's an intriguing philosophical conflict.
Seeing as how we appear to be atypical for a Gym Leader and want to impart a lesson, I think it makes sense to get intel on anyone who might try to just brute force their way through.
To be honest, I'm not sure how useful that info would end up being. If they are strong enough to stand out, they are probably strong enough to not struggle with a first or second badge challenge(the most likely case for challengers from Torne)
