Episode 5: Hot and Cold Flex Off!

[fallers_npcs]

Today, the Class is off to the Hot Springs! Until Monday, they’ll be on a school trip to Mount Lanakila, where they will spend two days and two nights at the mountain. Here, the school will learn about the native Snow Pokemon. However…

Kukui frowned in worry at the Mountain which was… suspiciously barren of snow in this area. The ground was green with grass, and it was swelteringly hot. “Sorry everyone! It seems like we’ve got unseasonable weather!” Exclaimed Kukui. “Still, there’s no worry here! Unload your things, get settled in and we’ll still tour the Ice Caves at 2pm! Until then, try and relax. Maybe if you want a nice Heatwave, try out the hot springs!”

No worries everyone, there's plenty to see. Lots of Pokemon still. Though, the people at the Hot Springs could need your help, getting the springs back to working order. The Owner could use people with technical help to look at the pipes, people with strong backs to get the springs in order and at 2pm everyone will go to the caves unless you're helping the Owner.

[This is an event post, and all roads lead to the final thread! Feel free to make your choice where to go! Players can be students and chaperones!]

Comments

Hot Springs

[fallers_npcs]

The hot springs are incredibly warm. Nearly 50 degrees Celsius--that's 122 degrees Fahrenheit! Much too hot for anyone but the hardiest Pokemon to get into. There’s got to be a source of this heat somewhere. Check in the boilers, somewhere there must be a leak somewhere?!

[blue_ice]

Seto Kaiba clearly had a death wish. His own journey took him into the incredibly steamy environment, and boy did he quickly regret it. Even the cooler summer clothing he'd changed into stuck to his skin within minutes, and he wasn't sure if even his large insulated water bottle would hold up.

He had to fix this, and quickly. So he started toward the boiler room, despite his body screaming at him not to do so. His Pokémon were safe in their balls for now, thankfully...

[revolutionhawk]

And it's these sort of temperatures that finally force this someone to leave what's practically their trademark tattered trenchcoat behind. This means the items he constantly keeps on his person is obvious: a single pokeball clipped to his belt and a purple duel disk that's more than familiar even if its owner isn't.

"I hope you weren't planning to try this by yourself." Shay snarks, as if he's not talking to one of the geniuses engineering a way to un-card people.

Ice Caverns

[fallers_npcs]

In the shimmering ice caverns, all is not well. The once generously gorgeous ice caverns are now melting!! Dripping pools of water dot the ground, the temperature is up to at least summer time in the large cavern, and the ice Pokemon are too warm for their own good. While they’re not in any immediate danger, they are in danger of losing their homes. Delve deeper into their caverns to find the source of the heat, and find what’s making that sound deep within. It sounds like grunting, or maybe flexing?

[sinnohcoordinated]

“This is just awful!”

Dawn had just arrived and was being offered the trip and now she’s seeing this place falling apart. This was not natural at all! At the same time, she had brought out her Mamoswine to help try to cool down the Pokémon caught in the mess.

“Poor things! They’re suffering!”

[acmellash]

"It's terrible," said Ash, moving over to help a few of the afflicted Pokemon. He was glad that Dawn was here with Mamoswine. He didn't have a ice Pokemon this time around, nor a Pokemon who could use ice attacks or water attacks, so he was helping dole out cooling cloths to the suffering Pokemon.

"There's got to be some kind of problem here we're missing that's also affecting the area. Lillie's gone and scouted ahead with Mallow. She knows the Totem Pokemon in this area."

The Shrine

[fallers_npcs]

The sacred shrine is in the hottest feeling area of the land, through the Ultra Hole. Deep within a volcano, it is surrounded by giant flexing Buzzswole. They are posing, while chanting in their own language as they flex, pose, and dance. Their language is clear -- they are aggravated and yet they sing and dance around the shrine as it is covered in a molten, sticky mess. The smell is unmistakable as it is a glistening nutty color. Seems like this is the source of the trouble as a large, massive Buzzswole seems to lead the pack, his face painted with ash as he poses and flexes at your arrival!

[shadowslipping]

Uh.

Woah.

Yuume, dressed for a nice trip to the hot springs, stares at the pack before her. Her face is definitely not painted, but she is in her swim shorts and tank top...so...probably good enough to show that maybe, Maybe, she's an acceptable FlexChallenge.

Maybe.

She has no idea that's the point here so. "H...Hah...." What. What is happen-

"P-Peanut butter..!?"

[one_million]

"They're bigger than All Might!" Exclaimed Mirio, staring in shock at the Ultra Beasts who were flexing. "I'm not even sure I could take them even with my Quirk back."

Holy heck. And he only had a Riolu who was cowering behind his leg. "Don't worry little buddy, I ain't going to let you fight them. There's got to be some other way."

Taking Care of Business!

[fallers_npcs]

With King Buzzswole convinced that you can flex, now is the time to convince him for him and his subjects help. The shrine is still covered in peanut butter. And the volcano seems to be flowing with lava. Lava that, while hot, isn't actually searing you from heat to toe in body-melting pain. Go figure.

Now's the time. Flex mightily for their aid, and see if you can't get their aid to stop the lava from flowing into Mount Lanakila!

[blue_ice]

Here comes a late addition to the battle! Kaiba is definitely feeling out of his element here, but Blue Eyes seems to innately understand what's going on. She flies at the scene, stretches her mighty wings, and roars...that sure is a dragon flex.

Kaiba attempts to join her, spreading his arms...but he's really not built for this, and the gust of hot air sends him tumbling to the ground in a heap of limbs. He shoves himself up as quickly as he can, trying to recover into a more dignified pose, but...that could've gone better.

"We don't have much time! The geothermic instability from the ice is going to blow the top off!"

[sinnohcoordinated]

Flexing? Really? But she's like 4'6 and 98 pounds!

But, someone needs to get it through to them that this place needs cleaning up. So, Dawn releases the rest of her Pokemon and turns to them. "Okay, guys. New plan. We gotta... well... flex. Let them know we need their help cleaning things up. You ready?"

The six look around in confusion before nodding. Suddenly, there's a girl and a group of Pokemon flexing like complete dorks.

OPEN

[cureofmanyworlds]

Nozomi let out a sigh of relief - she didn't need to help out either with her Pokemon or as a Precure. Thus, she opted to take the chance to relax once everything was settled, heading for one of the hot springs to just let everything unwind.

She was a little more thoughtful in things, making sure to wear a swimsuit - there were kids here and she wasn't going to engage in rampant nudity, even if she was old enough to do so.

"Ahh... this is the life..." she uttered.

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Wes also wasn't involved much in the fighting so he was taking the quiet moment to visit the hot springs. A local woman said that his Pokemon egg may hatch sooner if it's kept warm, which is why he's in his boxers with his egg.

The man quietly walked to the hot spring and apprehensively stepped into the water. He wasn't scared but he knew he couldn't swim. It's a good thing it's not that deep.

"... Is... nice..." Wes echoes quietly, not caring there was a woman in the hot springs here. Apparently this was acceptable anyway.

[cureofmanyworlds]

"It is, isn't it?" Nozomi said, looking over at Wes curiously. "Need to relax, too?"

post-battle kaibs (open)

[blue_ice]

And now that the battle is over, the springs are open to all. Kaiba wouldn't ordinarily indulge in such a thing with his...privacy concerns, but the events of the volcano had softened him up on that front a little. So he could be found strolling through the complex in his navy swim trunks.

Kaiba's still slightly on-edge as he enters the water, submerged only just below his pecs (tall boy problems) but the heat is helping to ease his aches. He rolls his head and shoulders back, breathing deep. There's a lot of tension back there.

Should anyone approach, he lets out a soft grunt in greeting and lifts his hand.

[notpiercings]

Someone does approach, and while Kaiba might very well not recognise him, Dio certainly recognises Kaiba. How could one forget a man swooping down on a proper dragon in the midst of the already-exciting battle against the Buzzswole? (And notably, Blue Eyes is a very different kind of dragon from the Dragon Type Pokémon he's seen on the island and in his individual study.) His form was impeccable during that showdown, and the way he seems to carry himself in general sets him apart from some of the other folks here.

Which is to say, Kaiba doesn't seem like a goody-two-shoes protagonist. How refreshing.

Dio will return the man's greeting with a nod. He's in a swimshirt in addition to the trunks for the sake of decency - that's just how it be when one's coming from 1880 - and ultimately the majority of his focus is on the hot spring he's dipping his toe into. He's never been to one, and it's so warm.

Conversation is probably a... goooooooooooood? thing to do?

"Are you often fashionably late like that?" Good start.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba vaguely recalled him. The battle was one hazy blur in his mind with the condition he'd been in, but he'd recognized most of the group, leaving the new one to stand out. The kid was strong-willed to survive all that nonsense. He had to respect that.

He snorted at the question. "I'm never late. The game doesn't truly begin until I arrive."

He was joking. Mostly. But the world really did revolve around him at one point, or nearly...he shook his head, reaching up to push his drooping hair out of his eyes.

"We didn't formally meet before, and I'm not sharing a spring with anyone I haven't met."

Beat. He smirked.

"So my name's Kaiba."

OTA | Buzzswole Aftermath | Prompts in Underline

[shadowslipping]

In the aftermath of the massive ultra-flex-off that just happened, Yuume is taking a bit of time before getting any of her extra summer gear back on. For now, it's just bikini top and bikini shorts, as the fairly toned woman goes to finally relax.

Of course, Initially she focuses a bit more on damage control. Asking how the others are, helping them to their feet as needed before working to sort out the matter of the plates and the area.

But later, it's time for Vacation things- getting something to drink, namely, and enjoying that from a nice reclining lawn chair. She deserves it, frankly, she's exhausted. And of course, Audino deserves it too. And... ...Well alright even though they didn't do much, Alcremie gets something as well. Only fair.

And then.

The Hot Springs. "Hhhhahhhhh..." Yuume sinks into the water with a relieved groan, letting the salts soak into the strained muscles. "Finally...a break..."

aftermath

[blue_ice]

Seto's still a little winded from that effort, honestly. He'd been on the verge of passing out before he'd joined the battle, and the cooler air felt great...but he seemed to remember all at once that he'd joined in the madness and felt a flush of embarrassment.

He gathered up the pieces of his discarded shirt (littering was bad, okay) and found himself near his niece. His surprisingly strong niece. Guess it ran in the family, he thought with a tiny self-satisfied nod.

"You held everyone together through that," he said bluntly. "But when I fell through you looked hurt."

'Are you okay' isn't said, but it's communicated in the quirk of his brow.

[shadowslipping]

"Hff," is a rather snorted reply, not that it feels like there's much negativity in it. "I would hardly say that..." Speaking of discarded clothes, there's a tank top she needs to pick up here herself...

There they are, and- "Ah....I was caught off guard, but I really wasn't hurt, not really," she tries to assure the other. "It's nothing to worry about."

...

"You did alright yourself," she adds. Only alright though. Sorry.

Vacation

[withoutcontrolofmyself]

Wes didn't do very much in the ice caves and as a result he missed on all the fun. Probably a good thing too, because he probably would have bit the damn Buzzswole before cooperating with everyone else.

So now he's supposed to be enjoying the holiday? Or whatever? Who knew.

Wes is walking around, looking for somewhere warm to keep his egg when he sees Audino and Alcremie. He's never seen such Pokemon before, so without much hesitation the shadow human walks towards them.

...

Wes, you really need to talk and not look like you're staring at the Pokemon.

[shadowslipping]

It's a good thing Yuume doesn't suspect any foul play, or she'd probably do a lot more than blink, turn, and raise an eyebrow.

As it stands. "...Do you need something..?"

Post- Event, Ash and Dawn - Prompt 1

[acmellash]

Ash clutched his coffee in his hands. Normally he didn't drink coffee but today, it felt right. A reminder of his Sinnoh days and Brock's famous blend, which he had given him before the trip.

Pikachu sat at his side, as he was warming up under a blanket, feeling cold despite the weather. "Do you think it's happening again, Dawn?" he asked quietly, his gaze not meeting his best friend. "Spear Pillar all over again? Trip brought back two Plates. So did Yotsuyu. Tony said they're just like those Infinity Stones of his back in his world."

"Pika..." said Pikachu quietly.

"I don't want anyone getting hurt." said Ash softly. "Maybe it's better if we both took the plates and took off from here."

[sinnohcoordinated]

Dawn let out a sigh - seeing the Plates sent shivers down her spine. If it wasn't the Spear Tower again, it would be the whole Jewel of Life incident. As she cradled a can of soda, she watched as her Piplup balanced the Beast Ball now strapped to its back, flexing once more in victory.

"You know we can't do that, Ash!" Dawn said, lightly chiding him for making such a suggestion. "Maybe... maybe another time we could have, but... these Fallers are different than normal Trainers. They can help us. We need their help."