In midst of a Summer Festival, yet again!

[ulternnpc]

In the coastal city of Turnbloom yet again, the sun is bright and warm--but of course it's not the only place. All over Ultern everyone is enjoying the summer weather. Little by little, Ulternians and long-time Drifters alike have started to put out summer decorations throughout the start of August, which replaced the ones from Tanabata (if any had been left out to begin with).

There's a distinct sound of waves, and bustling of people nearby. Followed with the cool gentle breeze that carried the salty scent of the sea. Things seem to be at peace, as usual--or is it?

After all, there were always new Drifters popping in. Maybe today there just might be some new faces wandering through looking confused. Now's the time to step up and lend a helping hand. Icharibachoude, we're all brothers, as they say in Ultern!

Or heck, just feel free to enjoy the fun festivities filled with food and music.

That is, if you can--as behind the walls of houses in Ultern that day the familiar friendly faces all wake up with a surprise no one's expecting.

---

(🌺Ulsai! Happy anniversary everyone, and thank you so much for a whole year of time in Ultern! Please note NPCs will be popping up here and there! But for some reason they’re all different…? For any comments, concerns and questions head on over to the OOC post! Plot with your fellow players there as well!🌺)

Comments

[domeinion]

Oh! Well, I've seen a few people who seem to be the wrong age -- older or younger, and with no idea what's gone on. Have you?

[Peeps happily flaps his wings, and Fate drops the napkin and gives a wary "weh."]

[closedbond]

Now that you mention it...earlier I stopped by the Pokemon Center... I didn't see the usual clerk at the store side, but a child. I thought the clerk was out running errands...

[Coiffe will raise one wing as a sign of greetings while waddling up to them. Hello friends!]

[domeinion]

[Peeps hops around Coiffe happily, chirping about how fun this is. Nervously, Fate approaches as well.]

It definitely sounds inconvenient. And something that's affecting both people who were born here and those who drifted in... I have my suspicions, though! Have you heard that Celebi's been known to appear in the forest?

[closedbond]

[Seeing Peeps hop, Coiffe can't help but do the same. He'll quack about his own excitement. This is very fun! He'll even turn to give Fate an encouraging smile.]

I don't think I have.... but Celebi's not exactly a common topic back in Kalos.

[He looks thoughtful, trying to recall his knowledge on Celebi.]

It's a mythical Pokemon that can travel through time. Are you thinking that it's responsible in some way?

[domeinion]

I've heard it could be possible! It's not the only Pokémon with legends about it causing time distortions, but it reportedly shows up in the forest at times.

[closedbond]

Then it just might be worth investigating if anyone's heard or seen Celebi around recently. Especially if there's a chance things don't go back to normal...it would just create more problems for everyone around.

[domeinion]

Precisely. I know the effects have historically only lasted for a little while, but there could always be an outlier... Come to think of it, these appearances always seem to happen on or around holidays and observances, don't they? And not even always ones devoted to that Pokémon. It wasn't Helix that showed up on Helixmas, it was Articuno.

[closedbond]

Helixmas?

[X looks thoughtful.]

That's not a holiday I'm familiar with...I guess they don't celebrate that in my world. Helix... which Pokemon is that?

[PokeSpe is weird, what are fossil names idk-]

But if it's a regular occurrence that just makes me wonder what will happen during the next celebration if there's any coming up. I wasn't here around this time for the year...

[domeinion]

Helix is the god of chaos where I'm from, and the most prominent of them. He usually manifests as an Omastar. From the stories, that is. I've found no one here knows the fossil gods, which is the oddest thing to me -- in the worlds I'd seen before here, places that didn't know them were the anomaly. But that just means there's a whole new multiverse to explore that I hadn't even thought of before!

[closedbond]

I haven't been to other worlds except here in Ultern. The least I know is that there's always a lot of surprise for us to come across. Good, or bad. I just hope they'll mostly be good ones for us.

[domeinion]

I hope so too. Enough people here have had enough to go through.

[closedbond]

That's true, and it's already hard enough for people to not be able to return home willingly.

[domeinion]

Right. Especially if you've been here for a while... You must miss home.

[closedbond]

I do, but I try not to dwell on it. Besides, it hasn't been all that bad.

How are you holding up, Alice?

[domeinion]

I think my team and I are doing well. I mean, it's been fun here, peaceful, and on top of that, full of things to discover and research! I just wish I could see my other friends, too.

[closedbond]

I wish I could see mine, too. Or at least be able to tell if they were on the way to Ultern somehow.

[domeinion]

It'd be nice to have them here. What do you think they would say if they were here?

[closedbond]

I think they wouldn't believe I've been away from them for as long as I have. Maybe even think I was making things up since it's hard to believe you're suddenly in a different place.

I can see Tierno trying to place peacekeeper with Shauna trying to poke holes into what I tell them, Trevor wanting to know about all the Pokemon I've seen here, and Y, she...

[His smile dropped as he thought of Y.]

...I just hope it's after she had some time with her Mother. We hadn't been able to see her, or spend time with her for so long. I just don't want her to feel the same way I did when I first showed up here in Ultern.

[domeinion]

Oh...

[Alice's face falls. She thinks of Evan making his way to find his mother after he washed up on the shore, everyone thinking he'd gone down with the ship he was on. Of Paul talking about seeing his father's ghost. Of --]

It's a lonely life sometimes, being a travelling trainer. If you miss someone. I hope she was able to meet her again.

[closedbond]

...sorry, I didn't mean to get that personal. I just...couldn't help but think about how I had been a step away from home before I came here.

[He shook his head.]

I hope that she's able to, too. I'm sure that when she sees her again, Y would be very happy. She's stronger than I am. I'm know that even in Ultern she'd be the one to take charge between the four of us.

[He'll then glance over to Alice.]

What about your friends, Alice? What do you think they would be doing here?

[domeinion]

There are a lot of hosts, you know. [She laughs a little, softly.] I know Napoleon would start complaining. Camila would have a lot of fun, though. She'd go around trying everything in sight. Red... I don't know. He just wants an ordinary life, I think. But he might be interested to see his counterparts in a world without the Voices... or just try to go door to door telling them about Helix. I'm not sure that would go well.

There's a guy I know, Richard Descartes. Nobody calls him that, he got stuck with "Li'l D" as a nickname and had to live with it. But he's from Kalos, like you. He spends hours picking out his clothes, talks himself up a lot, wastes turns in battles just sitting around, and I'm pretty sure he thinks Awakenings are cologne. Even so... I feel bad for him sometimes. He became a host by accident -- they wanted someone else. And it didn't seem like he really wanted to be there.

Sometimes you remind me of that, X. You're a lot smarter and easier to get along with, don't get me wrong! Just that you've been through more than your share, and the way you talk to your team... They really like you.

[closedbond]

[As X listened he smiles while trying to envision what they all looked like. At the thought of one of then going around door to door to talk about Helix gave him pause. No doubt the people in Ultern would be too nice to close the door on the guy...

At the mention of Li'l D X tried not to make a face, but the more Alice described him it was clear how he felt.]

He sounds like a weird one. ...but I wouldn't be happy in his shoes either.

[Then there's a look of surprise when Alice mentioned how he reminded him of the guy.]

You remind me a little about my own friend, Trevor. He wants to become a Pokemon Researcher. Thanks to him we learned a lot about Mega Evolution together.

[domeinion]

Really? I'm always glad to hear about other people into research. Mega Evolution is fascinating as a concept, though I've never dealt with it myself. You must have been out studying in the field, right?

[closedbond]

You could say that, yeah. None of us knew a thing about Mega Evolution when we left Vaniville together, and for whatever reason Team Flare was after my Mega Ring.

[He'll of course raise up his arm that wore his Mega Ring.]

Of course, he was also interested in knowing more about the Pokemon we came across on the fields too. He was also convinced that if used the Pokedex, and worked with one of Sycamore's Pokemon, I would go back to how I used to be.

[domeinion]

You mean... before you were hurt. Right?

[She's at least going to try and be tactful enough not to say "not depressed."]