Part 12: Tropical Vacation

New Music: Summerland


Finally, after being teased about it for a whole mission, we're here. Welcome to Summerland!
Heck yeah. Time to retire here because who doesn't love a tropical paradise?
_{I personally prefer to retire in Wintown myself...}



Summerland's size is in between Ringtown's and Fall City's. The good news is that there's not going to be any patrol missions for this place.

What do you think of when you hear "Summerland"? That's right! Fun vacations!



Actually, that is right, but what I really wanted to tell you about is the Capture Challenge. If you want to know more about it, that young guy over there can fill you in. I'm just an angler, so that's about all I can tell you.

Welcome! I'm MC Fisher! May I interest you in our Capture Challenge? Ride a Lapras and capture away! If you have friend Pokemon with you, there's no using Poke Assists!



This is our first available Capture Challenge. We saw one at Ringtown and another at Fall City, both of which was unavailable. If our Styler broke during an attempt, we don't get a game over. We'll just fail the challenge and get kicked out.

We can do everything regarding this challenge right now, but I don't want to.

Here we are in the tropics, but your reply is as chilly as the winds of Wintown! Ouch, painful, I know! It's disappointing, but please do return for a Capture Challenge soon!

Sign Welcome to the Marine Challenge! The reigning top score is... 3500 points!

We'll eventually have to do all of them to complete the Pokedex Browser. They suck and I'm not looking forward to them
Not being able to use assists doesn't sound like a lot of fun.
Especially since water Pokemon would normally be a pushover with Plusle's help...



From: Spenser
To: Circe

When you reach Summerland, go meet with Cameron, the Ranger Leader there. Ask him to help gather information. I've already e-mailed Cameron and told him that you're on the way to Summerland, Circe. I'm counting on you to find leads on the Go-Rock Squad.

Of course, we'll visit every other place and talk to every other people first. We're going to visit the houses from the bottom and moving from right to left.



Or are you on vacation pretending to be on patrol?
It's hard to believe that we could stay at a lovely cottage like this. It's like a dream come true! I haven't seen our son so excited and full of life like this for a long time.
I've never seen a sea like this! I've never seen a sea before!

That's nice

Cabinet This fashionable piece of furniture is perfectly suited for a resort.



Shelf This solid piece of furniture won't tip over in an earthquake.



Two young Rangers took on the four challenges of the Jungle Relic. But that was the last time that I've heard of anyone attempting to meet the relic's challenges. It seems the young Rangers of today don't have the guts needed to do what those two Rangers did back then.

Rangers these days, they just want to go to the easily-accessible challenge instead!
I'm instantly reminded of a terrible MILLENNIALS article I saw earlier.



Here we are in Summerland, my Phanpy and me! ...I tried singing with the melody.

The Watchers, they sing. Lalalalala, lalalalala...
I didn't expect that reference in this LP, but here we are...



Oh, I wish I had something to fix!
My big brother is very good at fixing broken machines.But there aren't any machines for him to fix on this island.

What about the Personal Computers™?
I'm torn on whether this guy is needed for a mission or not. My gut says "yes, he obviously is."





That's why I can tell there's something not right about those sinister people I see every so often. I know for a fact that those creeps aren't here to swim. Huh? Anybody would know that?



Even Summerland's Rangers rarely go into the jungle unless they have to. Stay out of it unless you must.
As you can well see, I'm what I expect you'd call an explorer. However, when I tried to explore the relic deep in the jungle, I was turned away. They said it was too dangerous. Why, they treated me as if I were a mere child!



The Ranger Leader of this town and I have known each other since we were kids. He always had a hard time dealing with hot weather. ...Actually, he can't stand getting cold, either. He's so weird.

Well, now there's only the Ranger Base left. So let's go there.
Why would you become the Ranger Leader of the tropical paradise if you can't stand hot temperatures?
You'll see why later this update. It's so he can just do the challenge all day. I don't know why he'd want to, though.

Music: Ranger Base


Wasn't Leilani the name of that Hawaiian housing area that got destroyed by a volcano this time last year?
This game was made over 10 years ago, so I'm sure that's a coincidence.

You're named Circe? What brings you to Summerland? Go-Rock Squat? What's that? Is that like a new dance? Oh, the Go-Rock Squad. I've never heard of them.

...That really doesn't sound promising

Wasn't it hard getting to Summerland? Oh, the Ringtown Leader ordered you to come here? Wow, that sounds really strict. Our Leader went off to the Capture Challenge again today the first thing in the morning. We're usually free to do whatever we want. I mean, Summerland's so peaceful anyway that we're not busy ever. Oh, yeah. I'd better fetch our Leader for you. Just chill and hang out, OK?
*To Politoed* Let's go, Politoed.

Politoed: To-tohd!

*Percy and Politoed leave*

We'll take this opportunity to explore upstairs.



What will you do if a wild Pokemon suddenly use a move on you while you're walking about? The answer is simple: get out of the way! Pokemon Field Moves can trigger two kinds of status problems for you. If you become confused, your sense of direction will get scrambled. If you're poisoned, your foot speed will be slowed terribly. Both kinds of problems go away after a while, so there's no need to panic.

Like I said before, waiting is the ONLY method for removing status effects. They suck, but they're not really dangerous. And they're not actually pretty rare.
Scrambled controls? Oh goodie...

I'm not sure if this will be useful advice or not, but... Some species of Pokemon protect themselves by imitating other things in nature, such as plants and rocks. It's called camouflage, by the way. If you find a camouflaged Pokemon, try startling it. That will make it break its disguise. I think you should keep this memorized.



Like our Leader, this guy here has a huge appetite.



When our Leader enters, he gets caught up in the excitement, so he loses track of time. Like a little kid, huh? ...Whoops, here he is!



Wahah! Another great day capturing! I sure had fun again today!
*To Circe* Huh? And who might you be? ...Circe? Are you maybe the Ranger that Spenser wrote about? Well, it's nice to meet you. It's good and all that you came here for your investigation, but... That, uh, Team Go-Rock, was it? Whatever they're called, we haven't seen neither hide nor hair of 'em.



For keeping my technique sharp, yup. And, you know, just keeping cool and relaxed a little.

I'm beginning to see many problems with this branch of Rangers...
You'd think they'd have their hands full with a lot of petty criminals like pickpockets and stuff.

Oh, no, no! You've got it wrong. Of course, it's not always like this here. Oh? Percy went looking for me? I never saw him. It's odd, though. Maybe we just passed each other.

Music: Trouble


They captured my Politled using a weird Styler. It wasn't like any Styler I've seen before! I shouted at my Politoed, but he totally ignored me... They disappeared into the Olive Jungle...
This is awful... Maybe what Spenser had to say was right after all...

So you thought it was fake?!
Yeah, these guys suck. Suddenly I'm thinking that Summerland is kind of a shitty place to live if the local authorities are this awful at their jobs.

*To Circe* Circe, will you help us? Can you go into the Olive Jungle and recapture Percy's Politoed? You're probably...definitely more suited for the job than our Rangers. After all, Spenser's your mentor.
*Thinks* I know! How about we do this? I'll get in touch with Spenser and get him to certify this as an official mission! Great idea, huh? It's not like Spenser and I are complete strangers. I'll contact him, of course.

Let's just talk to everyone and then be on our way.

Music: Ranger Base
You may be a rookie but you look way more capable than me or Percy.
My Politoed... I belong with Politoed... Me and Politoed... I can't take it! I'm worried sick over my Politoed!
OK, I have to e-mail Spenser about your new mission... Let's see... Our Ranger... Um... Politoed...abducted... Erm...oddly dressed Rangers... And...as a mission... By gosh, I hate dealing with e-mail. Uh... Where's the send button on this?

Music: Summerland


From: Spenser
To: Circe

I read Cameron's message. There's no way that I could turn him down. I used to work on the same team as Joel and Cameron long ago. Also, by tracking the abductors of the Politoed, you may uncover some leads about the Go-Rock Squad. Rescue the Politoed that disappeared into the Olive Jungle. That's your new mission, Circe.

Music: Mission Received!


The entrance to the jungle is just North from Summerland.

Music: Mission Start!


New Music: Olive Jungle


Circe, I'm really sorry that I'm dropping this whole thing on you, but please rescue my Politoed!

Percy is actually just going to stand by the entrance and preventing us from getting out. Summerland's Rangers are so incompetent they can't even walk behind Circe...
I don't think I like Summerland anymore.





Like the trees in Lyra Forest, we can tackle it to get Pokemon to appear. If we have Pokemon with Tackle.



Treecko chases us on sight, just like Corphish. Except, unlike the sewers, this jungle has plenty of space for us to maneuver around.

Music: Wild Pokemon Capture


This is Treecko's only attack. This game sprinkles easy Pokemon even during later, harder missions.

Music: Capture Complete


Required Loops: 4
Possible EXP: 20/23/26/30

To the right of the vines contain just a Treecko. Not even any tree. So we climb the vines...

New Music: Go-Rock Quads! (Not to be confused with Go-Rock Squad)


Even if you're in a hurry, stop in your tracks!

!

Open your ears to our melodic attacks!

!

The rhythm of rage pounds the ground!

!

Let the melody of ambition rise to the skies!

The first two rhymed, the third one started a new rhyme... and then the fourth one fucked it up. So instead of AABB rhythm, they have AABC rhythm. This bothers me more than it probably should.

!

If you don't know us, we'll cure your ignorance! Billy! Garret! Clyde! Tiffany! The Go-Rock Squad's hot-prospect band of key-shaker-and-taker celebrities! A name once heard and never forgotten! The Go-Rock Quads!

!

The best Admins in the franchise are here!

Were we a bit out of tune? Doesn't matter, it's about feeling! ...You're the new recruit to the Ranger Union, hey?
Oh, Ranger, please hear us out. We've recently developed an interest in legendary Pokemon. But even for the most skilled of Rangers, legendary Pokemon are difficult to capture.
If you have the cash, there's not much that you can't do in this world. But legendary Pokemon--that's another story. Can't do a thing about them for any amount of cash!
But, you know? (Giggle...) Pretty soon, the ultimate Styler that makes the impossible happen is going to be ready. ...Hah! That's all you'll get to hear of our top secret performance! Bye-bye!

*They leave*

Turns out the fangames aren't the first games to use the term "Legendary Pokemon". Who knew?
Even if it is a metagame term, it does make diegetic sense. Legendary pokemon are probably the subject of actual in-game-universe legends!