this is the run, we are invincible

[domeinion]

[The days are here, and the Battle Park is all done up for the show. Banners with a weird shield-like symbol announce the Dome-tide tournament, and everything is organized in an orderly fashion. Everyone who signed up will be directed to their place and given a free water and name tag, and spectators will get a program detailing all the matches and locations.

The prizes are... well, something that a weird nerd would think are good prizes. First prize gets a Nugget, second a bunch of EXP candy, and third and fourth get literally just 30 Ulternian Poké Balls each. She had to be talked out of giving you textbooks.

select your team, b yourself, and have fun!]



[HOW IT WORKS

The bracket was seeded with characters who were signed up on the thread linked above for the month's plotting post! Since there were 10 teams and thus four people would have had to play an extra round, I gave those slots mainly to people who signed up multiple characters. You can find the bracket here with all the results, which were done via RNG.

The matches can be threaded out on the post in their toplevels according to the RNGed results, or can be skipped, depending on player preference. There will be a toplevel for rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4, and another for general spectating.

ICly, this runs on the 12th, but backtags until whenever are fine as always! This is a player-run event, so if you need anything, let me know!]

Comments

afterwards

[domeinion]

I don't know.

[Alice is going around the bleachers with a garbage bag and a small army of cannon-legged Surskit who are (somehow) helping pick up the trash. She sits down near Iris when she hears her ask.]

But you believe it's something? A cosmic lesson sending us to Ultern?

[etherealdragon]

I think everything is connected and we all have a reason for being here.

Maybe it’s not the same for all of us, but I don’t think we came here by mistake…

[Iris drew a line on the ground with her shoe, then reached into her hair and pulled out an apple (yes, she stores snacks in her hair, there is almost always a chance of baby Dragons too, never mind that—)]

The food we eat was always meant for us, but do you think the seed always knew that when it was growing into the tree that gave us that fruit? Or the farmer who picked it? Or the fruit seller who sold it…?

The people here think of everyone as brothers and sisters when they meet… it isn’t so different from my village. I think everyone’s connected like that, people and Pokemon…

Basically, I think there’s a lesson to be learned from everything.

[Sure, that’s a good speech, but she hasn’t found her answers yet, so she become a bit subdued after that. Maybe she’ll just have to carry on, without knowing where it will take her, too...]

[domeinion]

[Alice laughs a little to herself. The randomized Surskit all clunkily walk over to the two of them, curious.]

I didn't expect I would hear something like that today, that's all. Not in a place like this. Everything is connected in the order of things... You're right, actually. Even when it gets all jumbled, or when something wasn't supposed to happen.

1/2

[etherealdragon]

Really? [Iris asked, sounding a little amused.] I'll take that as a compliment!

2/2

[etherealdragon]

[She continued, more quietly and thoughtfully, again:]

... hmm, I think even when things go wrong, there's a lesson in it, somewhere...

See, back home, I was in a tournament with Ash, too. We both did pretty well, but I didn't make it to the end. I lost in the first round, Top 8, and Ash went on to the final round.

It's funny how things repeat sometimes... so I think, maybe, there's a lesson I was supposed to learn, but hadn't yet, so the lesson's repeating... I wonder what it's saying.

[domeinion]

I don't know. But I'd like to know, too. I've never wanted to leave things as "that's just how it is." I want to know how it's supposed to be, and why it's supposed to be that way, and work to put the world in order so everyone can benefit.

[She looks up at the sky and smiles.]

Maybe there is something to learn. Maybe it's just that everybody here is really strong, and there's always something we can learn from each other.

[etherealdragon]

Maybe we're not meant to have all the answers, either, but that sounds like a pretty good start. True, too. [Alice's interpretation got a very genuine smile from Iris, her heavy mood lifting.]

Those Pokemon... are they a regional variation? [Iris asked curiously.]

[domeinion]

Not exactly. [She pets one of the Surskit when it bumps against her.] They're randomized, just like the rest of my Pokémon. These are Hyperbug's friends. When I was first starting out as a trainer, I found a colony of Surskit and just kept challenging and catching them because I wanted to study them. That's where I met Hyperbug, too!

[etherealdragon]

Oh! What have you learned about them so far?

Must be nice to all be caught together, if they're family!

[domeinion]

They're a lot stronger than they look, for one! [She pets one and shakes her head.] These little ones definitely got the right side of the Randomizer. They're able to learn stronger moves earlier on, and while they're still Surskit, some of them can actually be immune to Electric-type moves instead of extra vulnerable to them. But the cannon legs do impede their walking until they evolve and can fly.