The Chandi Region
The Chandi Region - Where the Adventure of Pokemon Rollout! Takes Place
The Chandi Region’s History
The Chandi Region was once two kingdoms, named Chan and Di respectively. Chan was a land of blistering deserts, wild rivers flowing through sheer mountains, and barren tundra to the north. Hot springs nestled in the tundra to the north, and the mountains and caves were rich with iron and gemstones. The combination of these elements bred powerful, dangerous Pokémon in these lands, and the people of Chan adapted to this landscape, becoming harsh, nomadic warriors. They also became exceedingly skilled metalworkers, crafters, and inventors; intelligence and cunning were praised just as highly in Chan society as brute strength and martial skill, for both could save lives and feed families.
Di, in contrast, was ringed by steep mountains and further isolated by thick, humid jungle, opening up into rolling hills and placid grasslands. The wild rivers of the mountains wore out their fury on the rocks and were further choked by the jungle’s roots, transforming into wide, lazy waterways and huge, still lakes that wove through Di’s lands until they met the southern sea. The Pokémon and people of Di lived conservative, sparing lives, never taking more from the wild than was absolutely needed, lest the spirits of the wild grew angry and destroyed their idyllic lands.
Eventually, in their nomadic travels to find more habitable lands, a tribe of Chan crossed the great mountains and braved the dense jungle, emerging into what to them seemed almost like Paradise. They were met with cautious welcome from Di, who looked at the gruff, energetic newcomers with mild alarm. With the consent of the people of Di, the Chan tribe of Raatu settled in the northernmost corner of the hills of Di. They lived there for many years, trading crafted metals and ingenious contraptions to the Di in exchange for cloth and grain.
Friction soon arose, however, followed by bloodshed. The Raatu tribe caught whatever Pokémon they could and took whatever they could find in the wilderness, offending the traditional nature of the Di. They pleaded with the Raatu to curb their eager expansion, fearing that the spirits of the wild would grow angry. When their pleas fell on deaf ears, they switched to threats; when those were laughed at, they turned to violence, taking the Raatu tribe by surprise and forcing them back into the jungle.
The remaining Raatu, furious that they had been “betrayed” by the Di, reported their attack to the meeting of the Chan tribes. Many of the other tribes were jealous of the bounty of the Di, and this tale was the excuse they had been searching for. As one, the tribes of Chan invaded the land of Di, conquering it in a bloody war that lasted for twenty years.
Many years of troubled peace and intermittent civil war followed. The people of Di protested the expansionist methods of the Chan, and this led many times to open revolt. The Chan, finding a consistent source of food and a stable base to begin growth in the land of Di, transformed slowly from nomadic tribes to an empire of conquest, pushing farther and farther into the wild using the land of Di as a breadbasket and its people as farmers and crafters of soft goods. Though wracked by civil unrest, the Chan Empire expanded to three times the original size of Chan and Di combined.
The end of the Chan Empire is a case of debate and some tension, even today. The lands ‘conquered’ by the empire, often tracts of semi-tamed wilderness with a few hamlets dotted throughout, were beset by a series of natural disasters, which caused Pokémon migration on a mass scale. The Empire’s armies were called back from the frontier for the first time in a century to defend its people from masses of rampaging, powerful Pokémon. In the capital city of Raatu, the largest rebellion since the Chan-Di war began, the Di rebels using the chaos in the far reaches of the Empire as the perfect opportunity to rid themselves of the Chan once and for all. The rebels sabotaged supply lines, assassinated generals, and did everything in their power to hamper the Empire’s troops, turning a dangerous battle against wild Pokémon into a massacre, the wilds growing stronger with each rout.
Disturbing reports came in from the north and east, growing more hysterical as the wild Pokémon grew in power. The wild Pokémon were abnormal, with strange black markings on their skin and unholy strength and power. They were maddened, berserking, and refused to die; Wild Pokémon with these markings could tear through division after division long after their wounds should have killed them, only dropping dead when there was nothing else immediately before them to fight. The Emperor and his generals in Raatu dismissed such claims as hysterical ramblings, until they were sent positive proof; inside an Apricorn, one soldier had captured one of the corrupted Pokémon, which the soldiers had nicknamed Ravagers. A Swinub, covered in strange black markings, was released from the Apricorn and immediately cut down two of the Emperor’s strongest personal guards, who had been poised to cut the thing down as soon as it appeared. It took a platoon of Palace guardsmen and ten more lives to take the creature down. The same day as this occurred, Blackdeep, a heavily-defended fortress in the east, was demolished in a single night by one Aggron Ravager, an unbelievably powerful Fissure sinking the remains of the fortress into the depths of the earth and splitting open the mountainside it had been built upon. Unbeknownst to the Chan at the time, Blackdeep had been a dormant volcano; the fire from the resulting eruption could be seen from the capital city, hundreds of miles away.
Emperor Hassan, shocked by the revelation of the Ravagers and the awesome demonstration of their power, knew that the region was doomed if the Chan and Di continued to fight each other while the Ravagers raged across the landscape. He immediately sent out a petition to the Di rebels, informing them of the situation and pleading for a truce, lest they all be annihilated. The rebels, believing it to be a trick, ignored the petition and redoubled their efforts—until the Emperor himself went out to meet them on the streets of the capital city, devoid of any guards or Pokémon.
The reason that the fall of the Chan Empire is still a contentious subject is this: among the extremists in the Di, the surge of wild Pokémon attacks following harsh weather was seen as a sign that the spirits of nature had finally begun to punish the Chan for their expansionist ways. This belief is somewhat impolite but common among the descendants of the Di, though many of these believers say that the Ravager horde was a sign for the Di that their own retribution had gone too far; order needed to be restored. Some few disagree; they believe that the Ravagers were meant to cleanse the world of the Chan forever for their transgression.
One of the rebels, a man named Agni, believed this. When the Emperor stepped forward to speak to the rebels himself, Agni saw his chance to cut off the head of the Chan Seviper. In the middle of his impassioned speech, the Emperor was mortally wounded by the burning blade of Agni.
The leader of the rebels responded instantly, striking down the triumphant Agni where he stood and surrendering to the Emperor’s grieving, enraged son, Baqir. The Emperor’s son nearly struck down the rebel leader, continuing the cycle of bloodshed, but he was stayed by his father’s shaking hand. In the next few days, most of the Di rebels followed their leader’s example, and a force of men and Pokémon was rallied to stem the Ravager tide. The Chan-Di force was successful—at a ruinous cost; more than sixty percent of the army died against the monstrous, corrupted beings, including the Emperor’s son. When the gravely injured Emperor heard this, he closed his eyes and breathed his last, leaving the empire leaderless and without heir.
With the Wild Ravagers all killed or driven away, the crumbling, devastated ruins of the Chan Empire turned from external struggles to internal ones. In an attempt to head off another, mutually destructive civil war, the remnants of the Chan officials and the Di rebels constructed a constitution between them, dividing the lands into sections.
Three of the sections made up the original Di lands and were overseen by Di leaders, while five were Chan territory and presided over by Chan. All eight of these regions loosely reported to a central government consisting of three Di and two Chan officials, who voted over decisions effecting the entire newly-christened Chandi region. In addition, one of the Di sections, an entire third of their homeland, was made into a sanctuary, with capture of Pokémon extremely restricted in that area.
Years passed, and the uneasy peace between Chan and Di gradually settled into a much more genuine one. The Chan pushed to innovate, their lands churning out amazing (and sometimes disturbing) marvels of engineering. The Di continued to live in harmony with the land, their connection to the Pokémon of their homes deepening and strengthening. Both sides benefitted from the other’s specialty, and while there was still conflict, it has not erupted once more into civil war.
The job of the overseers changed over time as well, taking on a more ceremonial position in day-to-day life as the lands became tamer and technology increased. Eventually, they became Gym Leaders—powerful men and women who were an essential facet of their community. The badges they gave were a mark of status, marking people of power, intelligence, and skill. In order to adventure off of the trails or hold political office, a certain number of badges are needed, varying depending on the danger of the area explored or the height of the office desired.
The five officials of the central government were replaced by a larger committee as the region grew more centralized, making those figures more ceremonial as well. The Elite Four and the Champion still cast the deciding votes in any decision that will drastically effect the entire region, however. One must defeat an Elite four member in battle if they wish to take their office, though that is far from the only qualification necessary to get the job; in order to become Champion, all five must be defeated. In any decision made by the Council, it is the Champion’s duty to vote last. They are the swing vote, and many narrow decisions have been made due to the Champion’s choice.
Most recently, tensions have arisen once more following the newest decision by the Elite Four and the Champion. In a narrow 3-2 decision, the officials have voted to open up two-thirds of the Trilithon Sanctuary for less restrictive capture. Many people living in the Chan territories think that this move was long overdue, since the Pokémon in the Preserve are rare elsewhere in the region and many are useful, while Di fundamentalists cry that this is a betrayal of the accords signed at the end of the Wild War and prophesy the rage of the spirits of the wild.
CITIES AND TOWNS
Restful Fjord
Nestled in the southernmost tip of the Chandi Region, Restful Fjord’s breathtaking view of the ocean from atop rolling hills and its strong grounding in Di traditionalism makes it a popular resort for the region. Visitors marvel at its open-air market, plethora of trails with mostly docile wilds to feed and catch, and gorgeous Contest Hall.
Every year, Restful Fjord holds several fishing and boating tournaments, each focused on a different aspect of Pokémon (highest speed, most beautiful, most exotic, etc.). The tournament that is most well-attended is the Maelstrom Open, occurring at the beginning of the summer. In this tournament, contestants sail out of the fjord and out to sea, where they are expected to find the most powerful Pokémon they can, capture it, and return with it to battle the other contestants.
In keeping with Di tradition of using Nature’s resources sparingly, contestants in the tournaments must sign a waiver stating that they will care for the Pokémon they catch and/or release it back to the wild immediately after the tournament.
Restful Fjord has one more claim to fame; it is the only seaport of the Chandi region that connects to the Isles of Past and Starlight. Therefore, Restful Fjord is the last bit of the Chandi region that prospective Champions face before going to face the challenges of the greatest of the Elite Four.
Clearlake City
Bordering Clear Lake to the north, with the western and southern arms of the Laughing River to either side, Clearlake City is an idyllic metropolis of stone buildings and dirt paths right in the center of the Di homeland. Lacking the occult mysticism of the Trilithon Nature Preserve, Clearlake is still the most strictly traditional city in Chandi; it is rare for a citizen of Clearlake to have more than three Pokémon at the most, and the majority of items and edifices are made and maintained by the hands of men and mon. The modern, shiny new Poke Center is begrudgingly agreed to be a great help and a necessity to the town, though it is still regarded with mild suspicion by natives.
The astonishingly detritus-free waters of the aptly named Clear Lake reveal a large network of underwater caves and ruins near the city, and many natives would spend their free time diving for treasures or curiosities, always careful not to disturb the caves too often. Recently, a group of researchers from the Illumine Oasis have come to town intent on excavating the ruins, though they have met with fairly stiff resistance from the traditional townsfolk and their Gym Leader, Mukul. Also, pollution from the factories of Raatu have begun to cloud over sections of Clear Lake, enraging many of the townsfolk.
Gym Types: Grass and Water
Raatu
The former capital of the Chan Empire, Raatu is now the northernmost of the Di gym cities, built next to the Laughing River in a man-made clearing in the Brooding Jungle. Chan influence is strong in Raatu—the buildings are made of steel and stone, electric lights shine brightly through the night, and factories pump out most of the items and goods that are sold throughout the region. Raatu is a hub of practical, everyday innovation; useful goods are mass-produced and shipped all across the region, and the Last Emperor’s Hospital has treatments that border on the miraculous.
Such high-powered innovation has a dark side, however; the factories border the Laughing River, pouring pollution into its clear water and giving rise to an explosion of Poison Pokémon population. While the factories have moved beyond the dark times of sixteen-hour work days, dangerous conditions, and callous overseers, factory work is still far from easy and it separates the Di from the land they love. The rest of Di territory believe that Raatu has lost touch with the spirits of the wild, and dark rumors surround the noises that come from the Gym Leader Yash’s hospital at night…
Gym Types: Poison and Steel
Trilithon Sanctuary
The Trilithon Sanctuary once covered a little over a third of the Di homeland, encompassing several different landscapes and holding several different types of Pokémon inside it. Since the most recent decision by the Champion and the Elite Four, the actual protected area has shrunk to a third of its size, resulting in a rush of Trainers eager to catch the now unregulated rare Pokémon, as well as Researchers who wish to study the unusual stone formations and extensive underground networks of the area. Many of these people have come for relatively harmless reasons, but not everyone’s intentions are pure—or friendly.
The people who live in the lands of the Sanctuary are a strange lot, taciturn and steeped in ancient tradition unchanged since before the Chan crossed the Mountains at the End. Though there have been one or two altercations between the Sanctuary residents and the new visitors, most of the locals have followed their Gym Leader Nirav’s example and accepted the Five’s decision with stoic calm. The number of people who have gone missing since the Sanctuary was decreased can easily be ascribed to inexperienced people in unfamiliar territory.
Gym Types: Fairy and Dark
High Keep and Low Keep
Situated at the most easily-traversed pass between the homelands of Chan and Di, High Keep and Low Keep are twinned towns connected by the illuminated Crystal Caverns. The Crystal Caverns were once terrifying caves, filled with dangerous, powerful mon, but centuries of travel between Chan and Di have tamed the Pokémon a great amount—though several sections of the Crystal caverns are roped off, inaccessible to those who do not have the requisite number of badges. It’s even rumored that there’s a section of the caverns that only the Elite Four may enter.
Low Keep is at the foot of the Mountains at the End facing the Di region; High Keep sits facing the homeland of the Chan. Their names grew from the fact that, geographically, Di is more than one hundred feet lower than Chan. This causes the strange optical illusion that, when passing from Chan to Di, the Mountains grow considerably. In culture and lifestyle, High Keep and Low Keep are fairly similar—strict garrisons with small, sprawling towns surrounding them. High Keep is the central headquarters of the Chandi Rangers, the policeman and paramilitary units of the Chandi region.
Monastery of the Scaled Fist
Standing tall and unbroken three-quarters of the way up the tallest of the Mountains at the End, the Monastery of the Scaled Fist perfectly symbolizes the pride and defiant pugilism of the Order it houses. Prospective challengers of the daunting Monastery Gym first have to brave the rough wilds, steep climb, and dangerous wild Pokémon of the Mountains before they ever face the rambling leader, Cole.
The people of the Monastery are required to wander for five years as part of their discipline, living on what they can and growing themselves and their Pokémon in strength. Many choose to traverse the Mountains at the End during this time, seeking to learn the territory where they will spend most of their days, but some few travel beyond, going throughout the region and even taking on the gym challenges.
Gym Types: Dragon and Fighting
Landsmeet
Somewhat-affectionately known as “The last stop for the Badgeless”, Landsmeet is a bustling commerce town situated at the crossroads connecting High Keep to Illumine Oasis, Fort Earthquake, and Aurora Heights. Traveling west alone from Landsmeet requires at least three badges; to move north unaccompanied, one must have five; and going east alone requires seven badges, forcing Fort Earthquake to be the last stop in every prospective Champion’s quest for all eight badges. Therefore, if someone lacks three badges and is not a Disciple of the Scaled Fist, Landsmeet is the end of the road. As time passed and the threat of wild ravagers decreased, this restriction became more ceremonial rather than necessary, but as of the present day the restrictions still stand.
As a commercial town and the last “safe zone” of the empire, Landsmeet is an eclectic mixture of seasoned Trainers and new hopefuls, with unscrupulous merchants and ambitious entrepreneurs thrown into the mix, all wrapped up into a high-gloss, commercial finish. It is said that one can find anything in Landsmeet—even a Gym badge, as Landsmeet’s Gym Leader Alba prides herself in accepting all comers, newbies and veterans alike.
Gym Types: Normal, Bug, and Flying
Illumine Oasis
Roughly in the center of the Siccum Desert, Illumine Oasis was once a resting place for the Chan tribes as they traveled through the dangerous wastes. Illumine gained its name from the outcroppings of glowing crystal that grew around the pool, leading many archeologists to believe that an offshoot of the Crystal Caverns came out somewhere nearby. None have been found as of yet, however.
As time and technology grew, the Illumine Oasis became a popular, glitzy resort town. The danger of the occasional powerful wild, a descendant of the rampaging beasts at the end of the Chan Empire, only added to its air of high-tech decadence. Slot machines and other flashy games of chance abound in the Illumine Oasis, and it boasts the largest Contest Hall of the region.
Paradoxically, right alongside the foolish frivolity of the “Glittering Oasis” there lives a thriving community of researchers and scientists, focusing on the strange stones littered around the oasis and their odd properties. Gym Leader Phaedrus heads the Illumine Academy along with his duties as overseer of the province—and it’s rumored that he runs most of the gambling dens in the city as well.
Gym Types: Electric and Psychic
Traveler’s Rest
A bizarre spot of peace in the icy, dangerous tundra between Landsmeet and Aurora Heights, Traveler’s Rest is a naturally occurring hot spring right in the midst of dangerous Pokémon and massive blizzards. Despite the hazards all around it, Traveler’s Rest is a place of sanctuary; both people and wild Pokémon travel to the springs for relaxation and peace, and all honor the rules of its enigmatic, elderly keeper.
The Keeper has two rules; no battling will be done within a mile of the hot springs, and no unwanted capture will occur within that distance. Despite his elderly appearance and frail stature, the Keeper is rarely crossed; the power of the wild Pokémon that frequent the springs and their fierce loyalty to the old man provide a strong deterrent.
Aurora Heights
Far to the north stands the gorgeous fortress of Aurora Heights, the farthest the Chandi Region has managed to reach since the fall of the Chan Empire. Beyond lies great Ice Pokémon of terrible power, Ghosts older than the Chan Empire itself, and those few Dragons powerful enough to survive in lands inherently inimical to their very nature. According to Chan folklore, beyond that lies the place where all Chan go after they die. With exceedingly short summers and endless winters, the Heights is not a place for the faint of heart.
The people take every advantage they can to survive their world, utilizing the most advanced technology to stay warm and the most progressive farming and hunting techniques to stay fed. Their land is one of stark, awe-inspiring beauty, and it shows in their artwork, which is prized above all others in the region. Aurora Heights has a simple Contest Hall, its Spartan appearance standing in contrast to Restful Fjord’s elegance or Illumine Oasis’ gaudy flashiness; however, it is here that the Master Class contests take place, often judged by Lia, the Gym Leader.
Gym Types: Ghost and Ice
Fort Earthquake
Formed of the black volcanic rock that spilled from Blackdeep the day the Heatran were released is Fort Earthquake, the Chandi Region’s first and last outpost against the wild East and the specter of another wild Pokémon ravage. The land around Fort Earthquake is barren and sterile, home to Pokémon that can survive anything. Food must be sent to the fortress via caravan from Landsmeet, and the caravans are almost invariably attacked by Pokémon seeking a good meal. Many complain about the cost of this caravan in money and (at times) lives, saying that Blackdeep should be abandoned and Fort Earthquake emptied.
What such people choose to ignore is the fact that the most powerful of the rampaging wilds were driven East, and many of those Pokémon and their descendants seek to return to the lands they were driven from. Fort Earthquake and its Gym Leader, Bjorn, turn aside sporadic assaults from nightmarish monsters, Pokémon so old and so powerful that they have nearly become legendaries themselves. Without Fort Earthquake, the wilds would turn to Landsmeet—and if the land around Landsmeet was blighted, the rest of the Region would suffer.
Gym Types: Earth, Rock, and Fire
Blackdeep
This crag of blackened rock still glows with fire deep in its center, holding pent-up lava deep inside. Though it is dismissed by most, some few believe that Heatran sleep within the obsidian volcano, a sea of monsters reaching to the heart of the earth.
The Chan see Blackdeep as cursed; the Di see it as the holy sight of a dangerous and unreliable god. For this reason, few are allowed to traverse the slopes of the ancient mountain, and those few are carefully cross-examined to ensure that none are Flames of Agni.
The Isles of Past and Starlight
South of the Di region, the Isles of Past and Starlight serve the same purpose to the mythology of the Di as the Far North does to the Chan—they are the final resting place for pious Di who do not reincarnate as people or Pokémon. As such, the islands are holy ground—only the Champion and prospective challengers are allowed to venture to the islands, and they are sworn to secrecy upon their return.
Crime
As with many things in the Chandi Region, crime has been split upon the Chan and Di border. The Di have the Flames of Agni, violent separatists who think that the “Chan invaders” should be purged from their lands; and the Chan have the Futurists, amoral intellectuals who look for scientific progress, no matter the cost.
The Flames of Agni
Founded by the members of the Di rebellion who refused to ally with the Chan even in the face of the Wild Ravagers, the Flames of Agni are comprised of the children of said rebels as well as the discontented and abused in Di society. In more recent years, the organization has become more akin to a violent gang than a seditious force, exacerbating tensions between Chan and Di wherever they find them and attacking people of Chan heritage within Di territory. Most of the crimes of the Flames of Agni are violent in nature; armed robbery, gang violence, and attacks on Chan people and products comprise the majority of their actions.
As time has passed and the Chandi Region has become one nation, the Flames of Agni have lost focus, attracting the scum of society to them and becoming more common criminals. Unfortunately, the recent decision by the Elite Four and the Champion to drastically reduce the size of Trilithon Sanctuary may have had the side effect of giving this criminal organization a purpose again; The choice was unpopular enough that the ranks of the Flames of Agni have swelled, and the new leader—a mysterious figure known only as “Agni”—seems to be making more competent choices than his predecessors…
The Futurists
While the Flames of Agni grow out of an ancient feud, the Futurists are a fairly new development in Chan territory. As technology has developed and grown, the line between ethical and unethical experimentation has grown increasingly blurry. Many believe in taking the most cautious approach, slowing or even stopping scientific progress in favor of protecting the rights of people and Pokémon. The Futurists… are at the other extreme. The most rational and coherent of their members argue that if the end result benefits people and Pokémon as a whole, then a few moral indiscretions could be forgiven, and what is the law but a social construct based on the general moral consensus? The more unhinged members eschew this argument altogether, stating that SCIENCE for the sake of SCIENCE trumped all else.
White-collar crime is the method of choice for the Futurists, with embezzlement, digital theft, and fraud being their main methods to fund their scientific forays. The Futurists have also dabbled in political affairs, blackmailing those who would impose greater scientific restrictions and donating generously to lawmakers who advocated scientific freedom. Rumors of more disturbing actions—kidnapping and mass experiments upon unwitting people and Pokémon, among other acts—are prevalent, and the discovery of a new device called a Snag machine which allows Trainers to catch an already caught Pokémon have only made these rumors worse…
Two Sides of Crime
The Flames of Agni and the Futurists represent the worst that this two-sided Region has to offer; on the Di side hidebound hatred and traditionalism, and on the Chan side scientific progress with no thought for the consequences. It stands to reason, therefore, that the two criminal organizations hate each other fiercely, each doing everything in their power to destroy the other whenever they clash. This is one of the reasons High Keep and Low Keep are so valuable to the Ranger Corps; if one crime syndicate or the other managed to gain a foothold in both towns, the other organization would attack in force, leading to open wart in the streets. As of now, the two sides keep to their own regions, though tensions are always high at the borders.
Gathering Eggs: a Trainer’s Right of Passage
In ancient times, the Chan needed every resource they could collect to survive their harsh homeland. This extended to Pokémon as well, of course; no Chan was considered an adult until they could capture and train a Pokémon of their own from the wild. The easiest way to capture a Pokémon amenable to training was by finding an egg, so it became the tradition every spring for the children of the Chan to venture into the wild and return with an egg to hatch and raise. In the Di region, if a person wished the companionship of a Pokémon, they were expected to go into the wild and bargain with a wild Pokémon for the right to one of their eggs; therefore, Di children also gathered eggs in the spring, though not as many or as often as the Chan.
In current times, gathering a Pokémon egg is considered the official way for a Trainer to begin his or her Gym challenge. The various cities and towns have for the most part created certain parks with a variety of Pokémon for the annual tradition, the wild Pokémon within the parks cared for and left alone in return for the gift of their eggs come springtime once more. In the Chan regions, capturing an egg by defeating the mother or through trickery is most often the case; in the Di regions, prospective Trainers are expected to bargain with the Pokémon for the release of their egg, rather than take it from them by main force.
A Trainer can begin their Gym challenge without first gathering an egg from their hometown, if they so choose; in just the same way, the Trainer may begin their challenge wherever they like, within restrictions. However, a Trainer who does not gather an egg before challenging the gym is regarded with suspicion, since they are forgoing an ancient tradition held by both regions. In the same vein, a Trainer may collect more than one egg if they so choose; however, doing so is considered greedy by the Chan and dishonorable by the Di, and is generally discouraged.
Miscellany
Technology
The Pokémon universe has always been somewhat anachronistic with its technology level; the Chandi region is no different. In general terms, the Chan part of the region will be more ‘high-tech’ than the Di areas; electric lighting, automated doors, and steel-and-chrome buildings will be seen more often there. That being said, Poke-Centers will be just as useful in either location.
Another quirk of the Chandi Region is that they have yet to master digital transfer. Until very recently, phones were landline-only, and computers were the domain of the very rich. The Pokedex is a brand-new invention, and its design as a cordless phone mixed with a handy Pokémon Encyclopedia means that it’s revolutionary—until Raatu’s factories began mass producing them, they were highly coveted, and in some cases Trainers who owned one were robbed. The Internet or an equivalent of such doesn’t exist—yet. Though they are getting close.
Pokémon Storage and Retrieval
Since digital transfer has not been mastered yet, Pokémon are kept stored in Poke-Centers and cared for by the nurses on staff. If a Trainer wishes to take a Pokémon out of storage, he needs to call the proper Poke-Center from a special telephone in another Center, and the Pokémon is shipped to that Center immediately.
One important thing to take from this: NEVER cross Nurse Joy! The sheer number of Pokémon stored at each Poke-Center made them tempting targets for thieves and criminals, so each nurse at each Center is trained extensively in Pokémon combat as well as the healing arts. No one has been foolish enough to attack a Center in quite some time, but the rumors still persist that most of the Head Nurses can rival the Gym Leaders at full strength for power.
The Fearow Air Service
Arising from the need of Trainers to get their Pokémon as quickly and safely as possible, the Fearow Air Service is a group of Trainers who guarantee that every Trainer gets the Poke-Ball they requested within one day of making the request—no matter how far they have to go. The men and women who ride the fierce birds to complete this duty have earned a reputation for efficiency, speed, and unerring accuracy in their deliveries. They have also developed a reputation as devil-may-care thrill-seekers, often sharing stories of dynamic midair duels with powerful flying wilds and glimpses of pristine valleys in the Mountains at the End untouched by humans, filled with all manner of rare Pokémon. Many Trainers consider becoming a Fearow Flyer, but the Service only takes the best.