Melemele~

Part 1-
•First they gotta do the Electric Trial in Hau’oli City(Tech is screwed against Alolan Golem) Beforehand they’ll have limited access to Route 2, the Trainers School, and Melemele Outskirts to catch Pokémon. When they continue on towards Route 2, they’ll be confronted by Agent Phil and Agent Petra of the International Police. These were both characters in the first campaign, and they were well loved for their combination of eccentric and professionalism, they weren’t an official couple by the time of the campaign. But, now they’re married and are grandparents.

•The officers, after some banter about pictures of their grandkids, explain that a dangerous individual recently broke out of a high security prison and was spotted on Melemele. They caution you to keep your distance from the individual, but to contact the officers when you get information. They hand TF old fashioned Holo Casters from Kalos, and put their numbers in to call the officers when needed.

•As they continue northbound, they keep hearing rumors of a hooded individual somewhere in the area. Eventually they come across a crying mother around Refugee City, she claims that a robed stranger kidnapped her baby daughter and took her towards Iki Town. As you ask around, you find out that multiple babies have been snatched! An even more distraught artist than the parents is crying about someone taking their expensive paints that it took them months to afford. Once they get to Iki Town, there’s someone in front of the Ruins of Conflict calming people down about item snatching and baby snatching. They suggest for TF to go finish the Rock Trial before investigating any further, to focus on more important priorities. If they try to progress past him he tells the PCs that even if that individual was back there it would be way too dangerous for trainers who haven’t even defeated their first trial.

[Using the Holo Caster here will have Phil respond to the players, and ask them to push on, since they don’t have sufficient evidence that the criminal they’re chasing stole those babies. He reminds them that their Holo Casters have a record feature, and to use it]

Part 2-
•Rock Trial happens, no E4 member or anything though, just the trial. This is due to your group encountering them first, and it would be kind of odd if those individuals were still hanging around. After finishing the Rock Trial, TF are reminded of the person who snatched a baby (through local gossip) and follow all of their clues back to the Ruins of Conflict. The crowd who had gathered beforehand had dispersed, after being talked to by that individual. And the entrance is wide open without that individual blocking the way. Everyone has steered clear of the area since apparently that person had checked out the area themselves, and they were looking elsewhere for the missing babies. TF continue on

•TF make their way into the area right before the entrance to the shrine for Tapu Koko(with the bridge). They witness the individual prior, who was speaking to the crowd, strip of his clothes and a wig he had on before. He wears raggedy clothes underneath, with a beaten cape flowing behind him. The wig he wore hid the mutilations on his forehead, closer inspection reveals they’re in the shape of a rhombus. The same symbol is sheared into his skin along his legs. The man takes 4 babies from the bushes, hidden from passerby, each painted with a specific color on their back. With a flick of his wrist, the children are lifted into the air above the chasm (No bridge is present anymore, to get to Tapu Koko you have to get creative with your Pokémon). He draws some very large butcher knives from his pockets and gingerly traces their edges along the skins of the babies.

[If the PCs haven’t used the record feature prior to this, and they attempt to, they won’t be able to figure it out in time to properly record what’s going on. If they attempt to call the officers, Petra will pick up, and quietly advised the PCs to remain in their position and stay silent. She wants them to change the direction of the watch so she can see what’s happening. Wants she sees the floating babies, the officers are immediately en route. If the PCs attempt to say something or step out into the area, they’ll basically be in the same position as the babies, floating above the chasm with knives pricking them. If the PCs don’t use their Holo Caster, the police wont come to help them and they’ll have to face this on their own]

•The man yells and taunts at Tapu Koko to come save the floating bodies. By now he has his signature weapon in tote-a silver sickle with a long handle and violet energy pulsing through it. It helps draw out the power he gets, but we’ll get to that later. The man soon gets impatient and the knives begin to dig into the skins of the newborns (and potentially PCs). As soon as blood begins to pool, a large sound could be heard from the shrine. A combination of a rooster crow and a sonic boom, the PCs on the sidelines breath a sigh of relief. Maybe the Tapu can take this psychopath down. Upon the Tapu erupting out of the shrine, the man stops it. To stop a Tapu like that would be like catching a bullet with your teeth. He wags his finger like the Pokémon Move Metronome and says something along the lines of “Ah Ah Ah, you didn’t say the magic word.” The Tapu is frozen in place like an incredible sculpture. The babies have Green, Blue, Red, and Yellow paint on them respectively. And with the Tapu’s presence nearby, the one with Yellow paint began to glow vibrantly.

[Petra, still on the call, keeps the PCs in their position, she and Phil are going as fast as they can towards Iki Town. Their current position is Hau’Oli City. She cautions them not to try to stall him or try to leave due to their position being compromised, she reminds them that he’s armed and dangerous. If any PCs in the air attempt to reason with the man, he’ll make them put their fist in their mouth to shut them up. If any PCs on the sidelines attempt to reason with the man, they’ll join the babies in the air. ]

•The man begins to ramble “Damn it, after all the research I’ve done it’s led back to the Tapu’s. And you were my main point of suspect! Bulu obviously represents the body, and Lele supports the heart, and I thought Fini the mind.. but I suppose this means a change of plans. I’ll just need that stupid fish. I guess I should’ve seen it, you four are kind of color coded.” In his rambles he picks up his disguise and pockets it away. He uses one of the floating knives to cut out a chunk of flesh with blue paint on it from that baby in particular. The man begins to leave, but not before directly looking at the PCs on the sideline who thought they were hiding. He retains eye contact with each of them, one at a time. “I’d love to have breakfast with Phil and Petra sometime, there’s this cute little Bed & Breakfast in Poni that serves the best Omelette you’ve ever tried. I’ll be waiting for them, and you as well. I can’t imagine this is the last we’ll see of each other.” He gives a small chuckle and then nonchalantly walks down Mahalo Trail. He relaxes his wrist and all bodies above the chasm fall, Tapu Koko will attempt to save the babies, but can only hold two at a time. Any PCs who are falling must attempt to use their Pokémon to get out of the chasm. Any PC’s outside of the chasm are free to try to rescue them or any babies. Rescuing babies will get you rewards and if you don’t there will be no fault, but PCs will fall in the body of water below with a major injury to their person if they can’t make it out in time.

[Petra cannot be reached during this. All you hear is heavy breathing and panting, she was obviously sprinting at this point to reach the Ruins of Conflict. Unfortunately for the trauma stricken children, she got there too late.]

Part 3-
•After the man leaves, Phil and Petra will arrive conveniently too late, and mentions something along the lines of feeling like running in circles. They apologize dearly for what’s happened, and offer their apology through gifts. They ask if they have any idea where the man, Obsidian, will be next. The PCs relay the information they know, about the next place that Obsidian is going being Poni Island. The officers tell the PCs to relax after that, and finish the rest of the trials on this island. Tie up all loose ends here. The officers would talk to the PCs after that.

•TF have PTSD, but receive rewards for any babies they saved. They may have a few filler sessions after that to calm everyone down before the Trial. Take Kyu to a few Contests, have Yusuke practice with the Imagine skill, Practice Talia’s social skills, maybe have a session dedicated to Secret Pokemon? The PCs will bond over shared horror (If anything Yusuke found himself over that chasm), and when they’re ready they’ll take on the Ground Trial. After this trial, every trainer will have access to a full school charm if they want it. If they haven’t been going out on Melemele Sea to the Church of Lilies, the boat charter to the Ground Trial will remind them to and offer to take them a ride since it’s not for away. After this, they’re promoted to get everything else they want from Melemele. Any more encounters, or secret items/hints, or people to say goodbye to, this is when they do it. This time is also when the trainers will partake in their Grand Trial on Big Wave Beach. The Kahuna doesn’t exactly take his responsibilities as seriously as the others, and is often riding a good wave with an Alomomola. Afterwards, they get a call from Phil.

•Phil asks to meet all three of them at the local Malasada Shop in Hau’Oli City to speak in person. When they meet, Phil lays out their options very carefully. TF can’t share this information with the public, a mass panic would ensue that would be worse than the damage that Obsidian has already caused(feels good to stop writing “the man”, “the individual”, etc). They either help take down Obsidian which would negate the threat of them spreading the info to the public(people feel better that a serial killer is locked up rather than on the loose), or they go to a High Security holding facility until this blows over-which might take years. He cautions them that it would be dangerous, but he’s seen a group of kids save the world before. He tells them that it wouldn’t be the first time that mere children show their worth, and it wouldn’t be the last. He tells them he thinks they’ll make the right decision, and that they’ll be waiting in the Marina. (Jesus, I’m gonna have to change so much if they want to go to the holding facility) He leaves, and the PCs have to have a conversation about how they want to handle the situation. They watched this man carve a chunk of flesh of a baby, did they really want to chase him down? I’m going to continue and assume they do, if not I’m going to have to figure out a whole subplot about escaping the High Security holding facility on top of the rest of this, and how it’ll change their relationship with Phil and Petra

•Assuming they get on that boat, Phil greets them with open arms and gives them a tour around the boat. The upper deck is quite roomy, with only a chef station on it. An Ambipom in an apron named Poppyseed is happy to make custom dishes for when your Pokémon are feeling rough, you just need to tell her ahead of time what kind of food they like/dislike so she can be prepared. The Pokémon Center in Seafolk City is going to not exist soon, so this’ll be helpful. The lower deck includes the sleeping quarters and the offices of Phil and Petra. The captain’s quarters are accessed through their offices, and it’s where they sleep. There’s an engine room under the lower deck that automatically steers and maintains the health of the ship, if Poppyseed is not in her Chef Station, she’s likely in the Engine Room. And without further ado.. we’re on our way to Poni

Poni Island~


Part 1-
Upon arrival to Poni, you have another encounter with Obsidian. He likes to make quite the performance. All of the boats docked at Seafolk City are levitating in the air, along with chucks of the ocean. He’s causing a bit more than boat damage though, there are a lot of people in each of those boats. And they’re trapped in the air. When the boat docks at Seafolk City automatically, and the patrons of the boat slowly reach the surface, it dawns on them the situation they’re in. Petra immediately leaps off the boat and sprints towards Obsidian. A very loud laugh can be heard, accompanied with “That’s cute, you seriously thought this was going to be that easy?” The boat is rocked

•Obsidian dropped the boats into the water and it caused massive waves across Seafolk City. The water spills over the Seafolk dock and knocks over anyone on the upper deck of the boat or if they made it to the dock they get knocked into the sea as well. Anyone still in the lower deck of the boat are trapped in there as the boat goes underwater and begins to sink. Those trapped underwater, including Poppyseed, will have to find a way to escape or else they’ll likely drown. Those outside of the boat are able to save those trapped in the boat, but also risk the high injury of those trapped in the other boats. You didn’t think that your boat was the only one to go under did you? Those above water must make a choice, attempt to save their friends or attempt to save the civilians?

•If worse comes to worse, Poppyseed will rip the hull of the ship in half for them to escape. The ship will become unrepairable if this happens, and they’ll need to buy a new one at some point. If you managed to escape with your own Pokémon, the repairs will be minimal and they can fix it. There is a chance of the people in the other ships drowning if you do not save them, it’s not guaranteed that any of them have Pokémon. After the warm welcome you received at Seafolk City, TF regroup and make a plan for how they’re going to approach the island.

•Petra briefs them that Obsidian is trying to get the attention of the Tapu’s, and it’s only known that they have some kind of relation to the charms from the Church of Lilies. He’s going to do something grand and attempt to contain the Tapu. After TF saw how he handled Tapu Koko they wouldn’t be surprised that he could simply capture Tapu Fini. Even though we just spotted him, she already has reports of a miscreant close to New Paniola Ranch that’s causing a ruckus. So that’s where she’s going to head next. The international police has blocked the area leading to Vast Poni Canyon to civilians. That’s the perfect place for a citizen to get lost and a serial killer to find them.

•TF immediately have access to Poni Wilds, Paniola Beach, New Paniola Town, and Paniola Fields. If you saved at least one fishing boat from the dock, they’ll feel obligated to pay you back and will transport you to Exeggutor Island as well. The entrance to Ancient Poni Path is blocked by International Police personal who are scouting out the area to make sure it’s safe. After what happened at Seafolk they want no one else to be harmed by Obsidian. Petra will hand each of TF an ID badge to show to any guards if they prevent you from leaving Seafolk. The ID Badge isn’t of high enough clearance to pass the guards by Ancient Poni Path. They’ll get occasional calls from Phil and Petra reminding them to saddle on over to New Paniola Town, but it’s relatively chill now.

•Once they do make their way to New Paniola Town, they’ll hear around town that the duo is at the local Bed and Breakfast. You can stay here to heal your Pokémon as this town isn’t developed enough to House a Pokémon Center. It’s a little Ma & Pa Shop called the Sleepy Swanna. This is the location that Obsidian said he wanted to have breakfast with Phil and Petra at. Unfortunately he’s nowhere around in the diner section, so the agents and TF get the owner’s permission to look around in the different rooms. Besides you lot, the only other people staying there are the Millers; a mom, dad, and a little girl with the cutest pink boots tied with a ribbon. But the owners haven’t heard from them all day, they assumed they had left. The agents and TF enter the room and it’s an absolute mess. Pillows, blankets, and clothes were scattered around the room. A little pink boot was hung by a little pink ribbon on the ceiling fan. Blood writing on the walls reads “Wanna know where I hid the bodies? :)” Taking the boot from the string, you’ll find a postcard with a picture of Vast Poni Canyon. Again, writing in blood. “This’ll save you some time xoxo ~Obsidian”

•Petra has some monologue while she briefs the team, “We’re not going into Vast Poni Canyon with guns blazing, there’s no real proof that he’s there. There’s also no proof that this is the Millers’ blood. Obsidian mutilated his own face with a shank, I don’t think there’s much a jump that he could prick his finger for some writing ink. I’m going to the Church of Lilies in Melemele, the owner has promised to tell me more about the marks he has on his forehead and his potential plans with the Tapu’s. In the meantime, Phil will be taking over operations with you guys. Obsidian enjoys the game, he enjoys taunting us, but he still wants to win. The only upper hand he has on us is that we don’t even know what or how to deal with the strength Obsidian has. I completely trust Phil, do whatever he says.” When Phil steps away for a second she leans into TF ears “I lied, I love him, but he is a strange and odd man. He doesn’t always have a plan, so just be careful with the weird stuff he asks of you.” Petra leaves, but not before upgrading your access. You now have clearance past Ancient Poni Path.

•Players have access to Ancient Poni Path, Poni Breaker Coast, Ruins of Hope, Poni Grove, Poni Plains, and the Grass/Poison Trial. Phil asks the PCs to wait on Petra’s return before going into Vast Poni Canyon. Better to know everything about what Obsidian can do just in case. He won’t stop them from entering Vast Poni Canyon, and they’re free to catch an encounter, but they can’t go too far. Two trainers are having a massive battle blocking the way past them. If they ask Phil for what to do in the meantime he suggests the Trial. The Grass/Poison Type Trial is said to be a real hellfire, one of the hardest trials they’ve faced so far. Part of that is due to both Totem Pokémon being under the influence of two different Affinities at once, both of a very high level. It has healing and HP Drain simultaneously, you’ll need to bring some real power against this trial.

•After the Trial, you find that Phil has disappeared. People say he was bragging because we was going to try “The best omelette in Alola”. You’ll meet back up with him at The Sleepy Swanna. There, he’s chatting with Petra. Petra tells the players to sit down, and orders them a cup of coffee. She explains that the tattoo engraved on Obsidian is based on the power of Hoopa. He uses spacial energy, and a high amount of it. Louise explained that by how Petra described Obsidian, that Obsidian likely broke his contract with Hoopa. Each deity has its own boundaries of good and evil, and if you cross those boundaries you break the contract between you and that Pokémon for it to give you power. Some deities are gracious and simply take the power away, others are vengeful and spiteful for that person using them and will outwardly attack them. Hoopa seems to have poisoned Obsidian. Obsidian has a large amount of power, more than he should, and Hoopa is slowly killing him. Obsidian’s mind is rotting, his body is deteriorating, Obsidian is a dying man.

•As mentioned earlier, Hoopa’s power is based on spacial energy. Obsidian used this to escape prison through teleportation, to lift up the knives and babies, and to stop Tapu Koko. What else he could do with this power is yet to be seen. Petra suggests the best course of action is to simply stall Obsidian until Hoopa flat out kills him. TF and the officers would need to keep a close watch on him until it happened. Louise Rose estimated that he didn’t have long, maybe a month, he’d be lucky for a few weeks. Until then, Obsidian could get much stronger and cause even more damage, TF would need to make sure he did the least amount of damage to Alola as possible. They can’t use weapons of war, or Pokémon weapons, Obsidian would simply shrug them off with a flick of the wrist.

•Petra looks sad, like the rest of her life her cases were so easy and fixable, but this one was complicated. Petra was a woman of action, she didn’t wait around for someone else to do the dirty work.