[ORP] Spice Up Summer

[Gwennythe]

Captain Whittard and his ship The Salty Wailmer were a Summer fixture in the main port of Camphoreon. They usually offered a ferry service between Camphoreon and Makko, but today was different; today, after Makko, the pro charter 40 was to head South South West for roughly 40 miles to reach the Picante Archipelago. The island of Tarragon, a dormant volcanic landscape boasting a high coastal ridge, densely forested interior, and sparkling hot springs atop a central plateau was the destination.

Buoyed by the success of the Peppermint Island trip half a year earlier, the crew of The Salty Wailmer had been eager to agree when the Captain proposed his plan; a day trip consisting of 3 hours there, 3 hours back, and 6 hours spent on the island itself. The boat would leave Camphoreon at roughly 8 am, round the coast to Makko to pick up anyone coming from there, then leave Kodo’s shore at 9 am, to arrive at the North Eastern shore of Tarragon at midday. Trip-goers would be given 6 hours to spend on the island, exploring where ever they wished of the 2 by 3 mile landscape, before the boat would disembark at around 6 pm, motoring back at a little under top speed in favourable conditions to be safely docked in Makko by around 8:30. The whole trip would be finished by 9 pm, when the Salty Wailmer would dock for the night back in Camphoreon. The trip was advertised through local papers, as Whittard had done before, and then the advert was picked up and spread through various other means.

The morning of the venture the Salty Wailmer departed Camphoreon promptly at 8 am, docked in Makko at 8:30, then departed just as promptly at 9 am. Fortunately for the ship, its crew, and its passengers, only a handful of fluffy white clouds drifted along overhead. Similarly clear skies persisted in every direction one looked, hinting that the rest of the day would be just as clear and devoid of sudden rain showers. Once the boat had docked at a simple jetty on Tarragon Island, maps were passed out to any passenger who wanted one, and clearly outlined the various sections of the island they now found themselves on:

(1) The Coastal Ridge: Encircling the entire island, except for a break at the North East Bay, this crater rim is a natural boundary rising high above the sea on the outer side and overlooking the forested island interior. A hiking trail has been cut and worn over time to provide a way to hike the long trek right around the coast. Hardy pokémon make their home here.

(2) The Forested Interior: Lush and tropical, the interior of the crater is a misty green jungle. Trails have been cut through the bush to allow visitors to explore the forest without becoming lost. Pokémon here are rather bold, and don't avoid these trails at all.

(3) The Hot Spring Plateau: Rising out of the forest, the destination of most of the shorter forest trails, the central feature of the island can be climbed without difficulty via a smooth slope. A network of tunnels bubble geothermically heated water to ponds of varying depths, while old empty lava tubes form an alternate, more challenging, route up or down the plateau. Pokémon are abundant here too.

The North East Bay's jetty lead to the only permanent settlement on the island; a very small tourist village with a tiny shop, toilets, first aid station, and communications office. Immediately beyond the 3 buildings that made up 'Tarragon Island Village' were the trails leading to the various areas of the island.

OOC RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS!

1) You may obtain two pokémon from this ORP total. This does not have to be with the same character.
2) There is no limit on how many characters you may play in this ORP but you are limited to keep only two pokémon as a player.
3) Please be very clear in your post when rolling; you must include the area you are rolling for either by name or number listed, and a clear description of whatever your character might be doing.
4) When a pokemon appears, please be very clear as to whether you are choosing for your character to keep that pokémon or not. How your character encounters the pokémon ICly is up to you. You're free to interact with the pokemon even if you don't want to keep it, so long as you clearly specify your intent. Once caught, however, you cannot release a pokémon to 'free up a slot', so please be sure you want the pokémon you catch.
5) To 'roll' you must generate a random number between 1 and 13; this plus the area you provide in your roll post will determine what your character encounters.
6) There /are/ booby prizes; these will be clearly stated as such.
7) The chance to obtain pokémon will run from today (Monday the 25th) starting now until 3 pm(EST) on Monday Tuesday the 1st 2nd of August! After that only booby prizes can be rolled.
8) The ORP itself will remain open indefinitely for RP.  

[TawnyAngel]

[Taavi, by the boat]

"Okay then!" Taavi said enthusiastically as he pored over the map; he was crouching down with it spread over his knees and held his compass in his free hand. It was a lovely day and so he had opted to wear his ranger pants, a dark green tank top, and his usual hiking boots.

"So we can hike up the ridge... we're close to it here, and there must be some great views, but we've got all day! We could go right through the jungle and up the ridge on the other side, or we would go to the springs- I did bring a swimsuit!" Taavi had in fact brought a lot of stuff, it was only a day trip but he liked to be prepared and so he was wearing his large backpack though it was only about half full and he hadn't gone so far as to bring cooking gear.

"What do you think?" Taavi asked, looking up from the map at Sasha with a grin. "You know me, Mr Decisive!" He hoped Sasha had a preference or he'd spend ages just trying to pick a direction to head in first.  

[Shaddaling]

[Sasha/Lex, by the boat!!]

Sasha paused in putting sunscreen on their fair skin and looked over Taavi's back to the map. "Mmh?" They questioned. They had decided to wear a simple tank top, shorts, and decent hiking boots in neutral shades.

"Up the ridge and to the springs?" Sasha suggested, offering Blurr the sunscreen bottle before leaning over, tracing the route out on the map. "We get a work out hiking along the ridge and then a rest in the hotsprings for a bit."

<> Blurr questioned, carefully shifting the fragile bottle in her pincher grip to her other hand before pulling the strap of the back pack further up her shoulder.

"I'm not planning to fall off Blurr. I'll be fine." Sasha replied, cheerful. "We could have the picnic on the ridge, maybe?"  

[TawnyAngel]

[Taavi, by the boat > heading to the ridge]

"Don't worry, I'll look after him!" Taavi said with a grin to the steel type before straightening up and turning to Sasha with a nod. "And yeah, that sounds great! Hang on, I'll just let some of the guys out." As he spoke Taavi folded the map up and slipped it into one of his many belt pouches before fetching out and opening four pokeballs; Valour, Scully, Swift, and Sky appeared and looked around with varying attitudes of interest.

<> Valour squawked, ruffling his feathers and walking over to Taavi to give him a brief preen. <> he said, walking onward and - once he was a reasonable distance away - launching himself into the air with a flap of broad wings.

The blue Scyther - abbreviated to Sky - gave Sasha and Blurr a slightly suspicious look. <> she asked bluntly of Blurr.

"I didn't know we'd be meeting Blurr until I'd already set off for the docks," Taavi explained with a smile and a shrug to the bug type. "Um, introductions though! Sasha, Blurr, this is Strikes the Sky but she doesn't mind being called Sky or Strike for short. She's the Scyther I told you Abel and I found in the woods Sasha! Only," he flashed a smile at Sky, "she decided she didn't want to go back after all so here she is! The more the merrier right?"  

[Shaddaling]

[Sasha, Heading to the ridge with Taavi!]

<> Blurr grumbled and handed the sunscreen back to her trainer.

Sasha squirted some in their hand and carefully applied it to their face, making sure to get their nose and cheeks and the back of their neck. They burned something fierce. "Hey, Valour." They called and turned to the other three. "Ooh, Scythers are lovely pokemon. Welcome."

<> Blurr replied, giving the Scyther a cool glare from beneath the massive curving blade of her helmet. She snorted, crossing her arms. <>

"Hello, Sky! This is Blurr and if she cares to tell you how we met, it is up to her." Sasha shrugged a shoulder, and deciding that they were fully covered in lotion, slipped the bottle in the pack, Blurr was carrying.  

[Shaddaling]

[Kat Bel, To the Forest Interior!]

Kat was excited, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet as she stepped off the ship and onto the beach. "It is so beautiful! Isn't it Kara?" She said, grinning at the small pale blue cubone following behind her.

"Cuuuuu!"

"Yup!" She scooped up the smaller pokemon in her arms and started towards the misty green jungle and trail. "It going to be an adventure!" She said, giving a loud whoop.  

[Gwennythe]

Shaddaling

Wow, it's a pokémon! A normal Oddish appeared!  

[Shaddaling]

[Kat Bel, OMG hiii Oddish (not keeping the oddish/) to the forest]


Ooh, look! It was an Oddish. It was so cute! Kat grinned down at the small plant pokemon, juggling her cubone slightly. "Hey, there, cutie." She said, shifting to get a better look at the pokemon. "Aren't you lovey?"

Kara gave a near growling warning noise at the cubone, waving her bone boomerang at the grass type. "Cuuu!"

"Have a good day," She called and stepped over the oddish carefully, continuing onward.  

[Gwennythe]

Shaddaling

You've found a feather! It's bright blue! A booby prize!  

[Chibi_Kokoro143]

[Lexxie/Michiko - On the Boat]

It hasn't been long since Lexxie arrived in the Kodo region. She barely settled in before worked had to be done. She had no problem about work though, she loved helping wild pokemon and exploring the terrain. It's just that she wished that her place was already unpacked and everything was set up. Her work can be taxing and she would love to come home to a calm atmosphere.

But there is nothing she can do now. She was here now going to check out the terrain and the pokemon on Tarragon. The place was a tourist destination and she wanted to make sure that humans and pokemon are coexisting well.

She was excited in starting the new chapter in her life and her new job, and she can't wait to meet to encounter new pokemon

~~~~~~~~~~

Michiko sighed delightedly as the salty breeze flowed through her blue hair. She hadn't been out of the TRHQ Labs for quite sometime and so she was surprise to see that she had scheduled a day off. She looked around and saw the blue skies above and saw water pokemon breaching out of the water. But in the distance she, saw Tarragon.

She heard about the place and that it was a popular destination for tourist. She can't wait to see the volcano and the hot springs. That is what she was looking forward to the most.

As she saw the island getting closer and closer, before she knew it, they had docked and was departing the ship.

Now the important question is...where should she go first?  

[Shaddaling]

[Kat - Feathers are rad - interior forest ]

"Well, look at this Kara, think it from an Swablu? Altaria? It is very blue, is what it is." Kat reached out, removing the feather from where it was caught in the bark and held it up. "Pretty isn't it?"

Kara gave a disgruntled Cubone and squirmed till she was let go. She huffed, dusting herself off and pointed at the feather with the end of her bone. "Cuuubone cu,cu, bone."

"I'm taking that as yes, it is neat. You can have it." Kat replied airy and grinned, tucking the feather behind her ear. "Lets see what else is out here. Life is a great adventure!"  

[Gwennythe]

Shaddaling

Wow, It's a pokémon! A normal Spinarak appeared!  

[BlackFireKitsune]

[Abel, on the jetty]

Once the boat docked and they disembarked, Abel took the opportunity to stretch his legs. The trip hadn't been too terribly long and had been enjoyable. Taavi was there too, of course - there was no way he wouldn't be on one of these trips - but Abel had opted to sit away from his friend since he and his boyfriend had planned to spend the day together. Taavi had come fully prepared with his backpack, but the blond had only brought a handful of things; a couple bottles of water, some snacks, a swim suit, and most importantly, sunglasses. It was the last of these that he slid away from his eyes and instead settled atop his head so he could look over at Zevran. "So, ready to head out? To the hot springs first, yeah? Or somewhere else?" He asked, although by then he'd already made his first choice clear. Oh, of course he wouldn't mind going to the other areas of the island - it would be very interesting to see, at the very least - but relaxing in a natural hot tub was his top priority at the moment.  

[TawnyAngel]

[Taavi, The Ridge]

Taavi gave Blurr a slightly strained smile, he didn't know what she'd said but.... Why did so many of Sasha's pokemon seem grumpy around him, or to just not like him? Was it something he'd done? It wasn't all of them but.... He probably shouldn't worry but whenever one of them took a sharp or dismissive tone at him he felt himself shrink inside. If he ever got away from Alyssa he wanted to ask Sasha if he'd consider them getting a place together but if Sasha's pokemon didn't like him would it work?

Valour gave a parting call to Sasha as he climbed upward into the sky, alert for anything moving on the ground; this place should be crawling with small pokemon that would make a good meal.

Strikes the Sky acknowledged Sasha by blinking her eyes slowly and dropping her bladed arms loose by her sides for a moment. <> The human was polite, she approved of that, and his compliment on her species - if somewhat strange - was welcome. She then turned to regard Blurr again, with slightly less warmth. <>

Taavi watched the pair of pokemon carefully for a moment but, when it seemed they wouldn't come to blows, he turned back to Sasha with a happier smile as they set off. "Well, um, there are worse first impressions!" he said with a little noise of amusement and a gesture to their pokemon companions. "It's a good job you don't have a female Scyther with you, Sky would want a battle before we went anywhere! Not that that's bad necessarily but, you know, better not to get anyone injured this early in the day!"  

[TawnyAngel]

[Zevran, the jetty]

Zevran had thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride over, people watching was always entertaining! Almost always, and it certainly had been today. They had reached the docks now however and people were beginning to spread out, many of them carrying maps to find their way around the island; Zevran had been handed one, and had promptly folded it up and put it away in his pocket.

"To the hot springs!" Zevran agreed eagerly as Abel addressed him, shouldering his bag - it clanked slightly - and setting off towards the slope that was supposed to lead to the spring. "I can't remember the last time I had a chance to visit a natural hot spring," he continued conversationally as they walked, "it must have been years, I don't think I was quite twenty at the time... Mmmh, that was a very enjoyable few days." The blond's tone and the way he smirked implied that he had enjoyed more than just the waters.