You see the town a good hour before sunset. It's nowhere near as large as Rivierstel, but it has a few large buildings, and a lot of beach front. In fact, getting closer, you see only a few docks, and no major port. Kinda strange, for a sea-side town. What isn't strange, is the large number of hotels facing the ocean, making it clear that this is a resort town.

With the sun setting behind you, you decide where to head first...

Jake didn't seem to notice the lack of a major port. He didn't have clear expectations of anything having grown up and spent all his time in one city. Despite the lack of expectations, Jake seemed to have an idea of where to go immediately,
"Lets find a hotel and find a place to stay before we hit the town proper. They might have some local maps that show off some cool locations"

In his past life, Jake sometimes made a quick coin selling maps to tourists outside of hotels. The job offers stopped coming in after he was 'unfairly' accused of picking the tourists pockets while the transaction occurred. Jake didn't bring this up, of course,
"Looks like a lot of water for our new Tykes to play in the morning tomorrow if you want to stick around here a while longer. I wouldn't mind staying here for a day, after all, we got enough money to do anything we want now!"

"That sounds good to me!" Seymour said. He was excited to get to a new city to see what all it had to offer. "I'm not in any huge rush to press onward. Especially considering my legs are still pretty sore." Walking such a long way right after surfing on poke-back for hours was really starting to catch up to his under-exercised legs. "Maybe tomorrow we can even try to track down some rideable pokemon," he half-joked. What he wouldn't do for a good Dodrio right now...

As any good tourist traps, there's plenty of maps on display stands, paid for by advertisement from the various shop and hotels in the area. It's a simple matter to find a place to stay in the off-season. And despite Jake's belief that you both had all the money in the world, Seymour found a nice, affordable room that included supper and breakfast.

Looking at the activities listed on the map, it looks like a list of the world's regional stereotypes. There are advertisement for Alolan Surfing, Unovan Rodeos, Kalosian Gogoat racing, and Jotho-style dance lessons. Even though most of these are foreign to you, you still know enough to realize the brief sounds more like a parody of other regions than an actual cultural activity.

"Well, I think I am going to treat myself to a nice relaxing evening of entertainment," Seymour said to Jakey as they looked over the brochures. "I am thinking either the Gogoat racing or the rodeo. If either of those sound good to you, feel free to join me. Otherwise, I guess I'll see later tonight?" He wasn't sure what activities, if any, looked fun to Jakey right now, but if he decided to do something else then Seymour would go to whichever event was cheaper. He looked forward to fantasizing  about having a pokemon to ride. It seemed to be a theme for him at the moment.

Both racing and a rodeo sounded fantastic to Jake. Either he would wrestle a savage pokemon or go all out in a race. He wondered if there was any prize money for either. Given he had already ridden a willing pokemon recently, he figured a rodeo might be a bigger, better challenge,
"Yeah, a rodeo sounds great to me! Hopefully they will let me jump on in! Maybe we can look at racing tomorrow if the rodeo turns out to be a bust."

Jake spent a couple moments studying the map to try and figure out where the rodeo was from their current location. Even on their way though, Jake kept an eye out for other things of interest.

It's too late to do much now, and your time at the fishery tired you out any way. A good night's rest seems like the best thing for both of you.

After a good breakfast, you head to the rodeo grounds. It looks a lot like an old school western movie, the type that reflect misplaced nostalgia more than a historical era.

Case in point.

"Howdy, partners!" A man in wearing a bright red shirt and blue bandana walks up when he spots you. "Welcome to Windzall ranch, where we got Oh-thantic Unovan rodeos! What can I do you for? We got Tauros, Bouffalant, Rapidash, even Zebstrika! If it's your first time, we got some Rhydon to get you some tenderfoot practice!"

At that, he points to a girl trying to ride said Rhydon.

...You didn't realize something as heavy as a Rhydon could jump so much...

After a good night's sleep, Jake was full of energy (like usual) and ate more than his fill of food (like usual). On reaching the rodeo grounds, Jake expanded his arms to his sides and exclaimed,
"Woah, there are so many types, its so cool!"

Jake looked a bit around to see how the other tourists were faring on their mounts before enthusiastically replying, trying his best to articulate himself in the same way the Unovan tourists did back in Kanto,
"That is one bouncy Rhydon over there. This will be my first time on such an 'authentic' version of a rodeo! Maybed I should start with a Rhydon. Oh, hey, is there any prizes for staying on the longest? There sure is back in Unova."

The accent was probably about as authentic as the presentation of the rodeo, but Jake didn't really care if they knew he wasn't from Unova. He was more concerned about how they got the pokemon so riled up. He suspected the pokemon were trained and bribed with berries to buck people off. If he were running this place, that's how he would do it, at least.

"Rhyhorn..." Seymour muttered under his breath, correcting nobody in particular (after first double checking his pokedex to make sure his suspicion was correct). Then, more loudly, he added, "I think I will start by spectating. Being thrown about isn't really my idea of fun. Watching people being thrown about is more my speed." When it was Jakey's turn, he cheered the trainer of with gusto!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:44, Wed 17 June 2020.

"Well, we got prizes when we've got competitions, but yah'll need to come back tomahrrow for that!" If Jake's accent sounded fake, the man's accent was downright comedic. "But first, yah need to get in a suit! Don wanna damage them clothes, rawt?" Jake is sent to a locker room to put on a jump suit, one that has some form of padding to help prevent injuries.


Jake gets back to the field, ready to try his first rodeo. "Don't worry kid, ya'll start with a real..." Your host is interrupted when Jake's future mount breaks through the wooden pen, charging madly at anything in sight, eyes glowing red in berserk fury.

It didn't take long for Jake to switch out his travel clothes for a jump suit. He didn't mind if he got his own clothes roughed up (he liked them a bit dirty and worn in anyway), but if they were going to provide him with something to help him, he wasn't going to turn them down. Sooner rather than later, Jake strutted out to the field, ready for his first rodeo.

Only, the situation turned into something more resembling a bull fight or running of the bulls as the raging Rhyhorn burst through the wooden pen. Jake, however, felt a primal urge to challenge the red-eyed pokemon. He shouted to get its attention,
"I AM A REAL MAN"

After trying to get its attention, he raced towards the bull as fast as he could, hoping it would do the same in a risky game of chicken, but he had one trick up his sleeve. As much as the Rhyhorns could jump earlier, he bet he could jump higher. Leaping into the air, he aimed to boost his elevation by springing off of the back of the Rhyhorn.

OOC for reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull-leaping

When Jakey returned, Seymour headed toward him with the strange poster he had found on the supports while the other trainer had been changing. But before Seymour even reached Jakey, a rampaging Rhyhorn made its debut. Instinctively, Seymour reached for his Lotad's pokeball only to find it missing. Lotad was still off helping his Magikarp and Roggenrola get settled in. He grabbed Glumpy's pokeball instead.

But by the time Seymour had released Glumpy, Jakey was already heading forward to deal with the situation. "Of course. He has a ton of water pokemon now. It should be no problem for Faulkner to-" Seymour's jaw dropped when he saw Jakey's real strategy. "He's going to get himself killed! Glumpy, go Stun and seed that Rhyhorn before that happens!"

"Can somebody return that pokemon!?" he yelled to nobody in particular. The Rhyhorn's red eyes made him wonder if even putting it in a pokeball would quell it.

---

Out of concern for Jakey's continued existence, Seymour is sending out his Shroomish to use Stun Spore and Leech Seed to try and hamper the pokemon's wild movements.

Jake vaguely hears the scream of the rodeo clowns, who faced with the rampaging rhinoceros, chose to flee rather than try to distract it. That's just enough to bring an inkling of doubt in the teen's mind, but he's already committed. As the Rhyhorn draws near, he pushes as hard as he can with his legs... and he realize it's not enough. Lucky for him, the pokémon helps him out... by lifting Jake up with it's horn, tossing the youth into the air.

Seymour looks away for a moment as his friend spins into the air, landing flat behind the Rhyhorn. Closer, one of the rodeo's employees look on in horror. "This can't be happening... Matilda never acted like that! What's happening!?" The other employees seems as confused and panic as the customers, and it looks like none of them have pokéballs.

With most target climbing out of the arena, and Jakey lying on the floor at the moment, Matilda turns her attention to Glumpy. She stands her ground in front of the charging beast, engulfing her in a cloud of spore. Though she seems affected, she still flays wildly at Glumpy, injuring her.

But, before she can cause more damage, Matilda's muscle seizes, and she collapses. As the dust settles, Jake climbs back to his feet, apparently unharmed by his flight.

OOC: Glumpy took one wound, while Jake only had a brief scare.

Jake flew through the air with a whooping shout that was either out of excitement or terror. He hit the ground hard though, he just managed to avoid falling flat on his face, but he might have bruises the next day. All in all, when he figured out what had happened, he lifted his arms in victory, but sounded more relieved than anything else
"Woooooo.... that was close. I may be a REAL man, but I'm certainly no pokemon."

After rolling himself up to a standing position he walked over to Seymour and offered a high five,
"Thanks for watching my back, that got dicey fast. She almost got me good! This suit is sure nice and padded though."

He then turned his attention to the rhyhorn in the proverbial room,
"What made it go so crazy though. I thought they were just supposed to hop around and kick people off, not go blasting into people like that. I hope I can still do the rodeo with a different pokemon."

Seymour returned Jakey's high five before he even realized what he was high fiving. He looked at his hand afterward, then shook his head, realizing it wouldn't do any good to fret about congratulating Jakey's recklessness. Instead, he echoed Jakey's concerns.

"Yeah. That didn't seem normal." He picked up Glumpy and gave her a tender squeeze, careful not to agitate the brave pokemon's wounds. "The rhyhorn's eyes were red with anger! We were lucky Glumpy was able to stun it so that the rampage stopped. Or maybe it collapsed from the stress..." Seymour sounded unsure.

"MATILDA!" Your host runs to the fallen pokémon. "What happened to you? What's wrong? Don't worry, we'll take care of you... GET ME SOME WATER HERE! HURRY!" The Rhyhorn opens her eyes, barely, as the man fusses over her. Looking closely, her iris are still red, but before it looked like her entire eye had turned red.

One of the employees, standing with you off to the side, cringes as he watches his boss. "Oh, that's bad... he only drops the accent when he's really shaken... or furious. Heads are gonna roll later..."

Another employee, a woman dressed as a clown, joins you at the edge of the arena. "Yeah, I'm tempted to skip the rest of the day..."

"You know he'll just be angrier when you'll come back." He shakes his head. "I wish I knew what happened to her. I've never seen her act like that."

"How about instead of worrying about your boss's anger, you go find him the water he is asking for," Seymour said to the employees in a scolding tone. Then, as he began rushing over to the Rhyhorn's side, he asked Jakey, "Do any of your pokemon know a good water move to provide a drink? My Mantyke can only blow bubbles."

When he reached the boss and the Rhyhorn, Seymour kneeled down nearby, still holding Glumpy. "Sorry I had to Stun Spore her, but I didn't want her to seriously injure herself or anyone else. Is there anything I can do to help?"