July Tasks 2013
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Well well... seems like there’s a ton of you out there who are just itching to do something for somebody else. Those little villages to the west certainly must be raising you all with good values. Isn’t that sweet?
Call me Royce. I’ll be handing out the workload around here. Since you’re all eager for work, we’ll get along just fine, I’m sure. First off, welcome to Alomomola. We’ve got it all, here. Unfortunately, having it all means you’ve gotta keep up with it all. I’m glad all that isn’t up to me, heh. My domain is our lovely King’s Rock Casino, of course. I can’t wait to put some of you to work there... but before we delve into the sweet center of it all, we must address the crusty, brittle outer layer that is the tasks I’ve been alerted to for the city itself. Let’s get into that...
Here’s one I can get behind. If you’re here, then you no doubt noticed that the outskirts of our city look like a bunch of crappy slums. That’s because they are. Renovations had been planned for a while, but they were wrapped up in politics that I don’t really understand nor care to. Recently, the plans finally went through, only to have another problem arise: accidents on the renovation sites. Now, I don’t want to peg the good boys and girls constructing out there as amateurs, but given the... graphic nature of the accidents I did hear of, it’s clear that they could use some help. Why don’t some of you handy types get out there and see if you can’t lower the casualty rate a bit with some smart work practices? Oh, and actually do some renovations, of course. Helping keep the workplace safe and assisting in the construction yourself is worth 1 point.
On a more personal errand, most of my proper muscle is out helping Riiko deal with the country bumpkins off to the west. No offense. This leaves my money-handling staff a bit exposed, if they were to go about their usual rounds. You see, we provide a special service to many businesses in Alomomola. Since we safeguard large amounts of money already, we also safeguard theirs. Of course, this is semi-common knowledge, and the only thing keeping our staff from being mugged as they collect is the presence of some protection. Members of our security, to be precise. You can probably see where this is going, given their absence. If you’re gonna take this one on, you gotta be physically intimidating. I’m sure some of you are the strongest Rattatas in existence, but our people are safest when potential muggers take one look at you and think twice. Acting as security for the money-handlers is worth 1 point.
For quite a while, Anana’s had a patrol of Qwilfish keep our waters clear. They were allowed to call themselves the Qwilfish Patrol. Creative, right? Well, they’re history. The word is Anana wants our waters to be more... friendly, for aquatic types to approach. Worst idea I’ve ever heard, if you ask me. Less security never helped us in the past. Still, it’s not up to me, so I’ve gotta instruct you all to get out there and tell our hard-working aquatic patrollers that they’re out of a job. Of course, break the news in a nice way. Not like they did anything wrong. One of Balthazar’s buddies, a Floatzel by the name of Fin, can help you find the patrol stations underwater, since he’s got a fancy waterproof map of the bay. He might also be of some assistance if you’re not a very good swimmer, though he’ll probably poke fun at you for it. Hence why we’re asking you to break the news and not him. Laying off the Qwilfish Patrol is worth 1 point.
One last thing from the queen, so to speak. Alomomola can be an easy or a rough place to live. Our upper-class Pokemon are, frankly, a lot of gambling addicts. Sometimes this works out for them, sometimes they’re capable of practicing moderation... and sometimes they lose it all. Tough break for them, but they knew what they were doing. In the latter case, if they can’t make payments on their mortgage, they’re out. We simply don’t have room here to negotiate, and frankly, would it not be enabling their addiction to allow them to freeload after gambling away their money? Though it harms their families and children, it can’t be helped. They must be evicted if they cannot pay, simple as that. This falls upon you to do. Be warned, the parents will surely try to strike deals with you for late payments. Don’t do this. Why set such a lazy, undependable example for their children? Just so they can live in unearned comfort? It just doesn’t work that way around here. Make sure they know that. Dealing with the unpaid mortgages and evicting their holders is worth 1 point.
So... how ‘bout some work in my own territory, hm? A little casino employment? I know some of you get that twinkle in your eye at the mere sight of my establishment. We’ve got some work for Pokemon like you, for sure.
There’s a bit of a caper going on at King’s Rock, for starters. If you’ve ever been there, I’m sure you know how it works. You exchange your pokedollars for chips, gamble, and then bring your earnings (or remains) back to cash in before you leave. All of our games use these chips. In this place, they are money. So... imagine my surprise when fake chips began springing up, and counts of our actual chips went down! Some sneak has been swapping them here and there to boost his earnings, bit by bit. I’m sure some of you meddling kids love a good mystery, and as it turns out, we need you. Whoever is doing this knows the staff at the casino, and knows how to avoid them. We find these fake chips in the slot machines, primarily, but occasionally at the tables of dealers who can’t tell that they’re fake. The culprit knows enough not to plant them at our more attentive dealers’ tables. The only other thing we know is that this swapping takes place primarily at night. Come in, question whoever you’d like, perhaps even play a few games to try and blend in. See if you can track this criminal down, or even better, catch them in the act. Then... bring them to me. Tracking down the forger, optionally capturing them, and then delivering them to Royce is worth 1 point.
Maybe that one’s a bit too much for some of you, but fear not! We have something you might find fun. Some of you may have heard of our ‘risk room.’ I hear it’s infamous in some parts! If you don’t know, it’s where we offer higher stakes... so to speak. Betting more than money, if you get my drift. Frankly, I find it a bit barbaric at times for my tastes, but my fellow owner, Riiko, can’t get enough of the stuff. Sometimes I wonder if he’s a bit of a sadist. Either way, he’s off to the west with the better part of my security at the moment, and I still have my full duties to attend to elsewhere. So, how about it? You’d be working under strict surveillance, and the actual dangerous/risque devices are off-limits to you, but otherwise, you’d have free reign. We regularly have patrons who seek these sorts of gambles out. Double their total earnings, but they have to put... say, their fur, or leaves, or whatever they have, on the line to be shaved or cut off. Perhaps they stand to be humiliated in some fashion if the odds aren’t in their favor? It’s really up to you, as long as you don’t offer them something that would injure them. We can’t trust you enough for that, you understand. Managing the "risk room" in place of the usual staff is worth 1 point.
For you tech-inclined types, of which there are woefully few, we’re offering a bit of an education program. That is to say, our chief engineer will teach you how to service our various machines. Simple as that. Don’t worry, you don’t have to stay under our employ. Once you’ve learned to grasp at least enough mechanical knowledge to work on basic things, you’re free to go. We simply intend to call upon you for aid in the future, should Wind be unable to work. If you’re interested, head downstairs and give his door a knock. He’ll set you straight from there. If not, his little Joltik girl-pal will. They’re both pretty savvy on that stuff. Learning how to use Alomomola's machinery is worth 1 point.
We always take care of our regular patrons. They’re usually here for the atmosphere, and never gamble enough to irresponsibly put themselves in the hole. I respect that. Unfortunately, one of our more enjoyable regulars seems to be getting bored with coming here, and I’ve noticed her showing up less. She’s a classy Gardevoir, a well-to-do lady for certain. I need some new faces to spice things up for her. The only problem is... well, she’s somewhat finicky and hard-to-please when it comes to strangers, even if she seems to be amused by them to some degree. If you’re taking this task on, you must have some sort of natural charm/attraction about you or someone with you. Anything from dedicating a spectacular floor show to her, to simply befriending her and showing her a fun time at the casino would no doubt help put the spark back in her visits here, as long as you’re charming enough to pull it off! Keeping this valued regular coming is worth 1 point.
Here’s a weird one. One of our video poker machines -- that is, a machine that lets you play poker on a screen instead of a table -- is acting up. Usually, this means it starts sparking and sizzling and then we get Wind to come up here and beat it with his tools until it works again. This time, though, it’s a bit different. The machine has started speaking. It challenges passers-by to play it. I actually kinda like that part, because it works. However, it also berates them when they lose. While it’s admittedly somewhat funny to watch a machine call a hulking Tyranitar a ‘diaper baby’ and get away with it, it is causing some of our patrons to become offended and leave. While we can probably have Wind take the machine apart and fix it, we’d like to save that as a last resort. My own idea is that some of you try and make the machine stop talking... or reason with it, perhaps convince it to at least stop being a poor sport to our losing patrons, heh heh. Talking down the misbehaving machine is worth 1 point.
Last but not least, there’s a bit of a thorn in my side that I’d like you to discreetly take care of. My head of security, Balthazar, is a good fellow. We get along, and we have each others’ backs. However, he’s off with Riiko, leaving me without a head of security. It would seem that Anana has decided that this is a good time to install a new “co-head of security” for me. You’ve probably noticed the Bisharp wandering around. Isn’t it interesting how she finds time to do this? It’s like she’s here and off to the west in Tao at the same time... peculiar, hm? Anyway, as much as I enjoy suddenly having someone who will report everything I do back to Anana... or whoever sent him here... I don’t, and I can only get rid of him on my own accord with acceptable cause. That’s where you come in. If he were revealed to be incompetent... say, he couldn’t catch an obvious cheater or two at one of our tables, I would have no choice but to give him the boot. Of course, this means I’ll have to catch the cheaters myself, properly incarcerate them for, say, 10 to 15 minutes... then reward and release them once I’m free of this walking kitchenware. Cheating the cheaters is worth 1 point.
Life is complicated here, isn’t it? Don’t worry, as long as you stay on my good side, I’ll keep an eye out for you. As long as you stay on my good side. Remember that part.
Recruitment: Between the layoffs and the scares around Alomomola, there are plenty of Pokemon who might be willing to move west, or at least find work there. For eight points, you can recruit any first-stage Normal-, Dark-, or Water-type (including dual types). Alomomola is a big city, however, and whether it's among the casino's staff or in the nooks and crannies of its slums, there's probably someone who'd work for your team. You'll just have to look a big harder. For thirteen points, you can recruit any basic or first-stage Pokemon.
Artifacts: Valuables make their way to and from Alomomola with surprising regularity. The Merchants and Royce are just a few of the Pokemon who find valuable-looking things, take them, and make better use of them than they were getting. That is to say, if you complete two or more tasks, you can receive any artifact from the list below without cost.
Promissory Note: For all of your hard work in making Alomomola the place it deserves to be, you can call in favours from Pokemon all over the city. This IOU may only be used once, but it can be used to call in help at (almost) any time -- up to four Pokemon using up to four different moves, as you direct. (Legendary Pokemon and signature moves restricted from use)
Self-Defence Ring: It's tough, sometimes, to have money, and even tougher when there are Pokemon out there who want to part it with you. This valuable piece of jewelry looks normal, but if you look closely enough, you'll notice there's something hidden beneath all that precious metal... this ring can be used to prick someone with a dose of poison, equivalent to Template:Move.
Ancient Scroll: This old, heavy thing is written on red, blue and white paper. Appraisers claim that it's "holy", but Royce and most of the world couldn't care less. Maybe it does something useful, who knows? Chanting the words written in this scroll will invoke the power of Template:Move if the user is Water- or Ice-type, Template:Move if the user is Fire- or Ground-type, or Template:Move if the user is any other type.
Magician's Cards: This set of playing cards lets anyone pretend to be a magician, even if they're a common thief. It's better if a common thief uses these cards, in fact; they're tricky and require some dexterity to use properly. These playing cards can be used to duplicate the effects of Template:Move, Template:Move, the Template:Ability ability, and Template:Move once each.
Accessories: You may trade in seven or more points for an Accessory Voucher.
The deadline for this set of tasks and for claiming rewards is before the end of August 15th.
