Santalune Gym and Community Center

Santalune Gym and Community Art Center

Want to plot a challenge fight out, or some other event involving the gym, Ziggy, or the pokemon? Head on over to Ziggy's plotter, nab me in cBox, or send a PM!

The Gym can always use some trainers for challenges, and the Community Art Center always welcomes volunteers and those who want to run events or workshops in the building. The Gym and Community Center are open from 6am to 11pm Mon - Sat, closed Sunday.

With the Santalune Gym changing hands, the function and form of the Gym has changed a lot, yet so little! Ziggy's main media is paint, with some of his more popular paintings sharing space with Viola's photos, though Viola's imagery has the spotlight in the lobby out of respect for all she has done for him. The outside and lobby of the Gym are reasonably neat and tidy, with only a bit of paint splattered over the wooden floor, much like the sporadic placement of colourful flowers that a few combee buzz about.

"Welcome to the Santalune Gym and Community Art Center! Are you here as a challenger, or do you have other business here?"

From behind the front desk, a snappily dressed League official calls out to people entering the building. Her cheerful orange jacket and yellow dress shirt match the kricketot beside her. She hands over a small small pamphlet that shows the rules of the Gym, brushing some strands of hair back. The kricketot on the desk gives a few soft chimes by knocking their antennae together, keeping an eye on the various work shop pamphlets and tourist guides they hand out and guard.

Depending on how you answer, she directs you through to the gym's forest, or off one of the corridors with the spacious rooms full of art supplies and volunteers ready to help make a mess and create some art!

Without entering the building, people can enter the public gardens. A massive tree (pictured above) provides cover to the majority of the area, with potted plants hanging from the branches and the tree's own flowers creating a rainbow ceiling. While certainly not on par with Courmarine by any stretch, Ziggy is damn proud of the garden, and the wild Vespiquen who rules over it.

While most of the immediate area is safe, even with a fussy, territorial Vespiquen ruling the area, there are some guidelines for visitors and people new to the area.

• first timers should always enter the building via the front entrance so that the League official meets you, and can properly direct you for what you are visiting for
• if you have any bug related phobias, please inform the front desk before heading further into the building
• you are free to have two pokemon outside of their ball at a time. Please be considerate of what pokemon you let out.
• the majority of work shops and events are free to participate in, and allow walk ins. Please show respect and restraint when using the resources provided
  
• do not attempt to capture any wild pokemon you see
• do not tease any wild pokemon you see
• do not touch or mess with any displays that are not explicitly marked as being interactive
  
• do not purposefully damage any part of the building, forest, or garden
  
• do not remove any rocks, plants, or other objects
• do not harass the patrolling Beedrill
• do not harass the patrolling Beedrill.
• if death or injury occurs, any battles are immediately stopped and the situation taken care of. Trainers and visitors will be compensated for any injury or death that occurs in the building.
  

The current Gym Leader is Ziggy Moon, an artist and bug specialist originally from Orre. They are a regular sight in the more expensive cafes and restaurants of Lumiose, and keep an eye on the Santalune regions. They do not own the Vespiquen, or any of the wild pokemon that call the building and garden home, but you can be sure they will end you if you dare attack any of them. Well, assuming said Vespqiuen and her hive doesn't kill you first.

Ziggy gives out the Swarm Badge to victors, and those that are deemed deserving of it. The badge is a metal and frosted glass cocoon shape, studded with rainbow glass beads. 

Along with the badge and some prize money, victors receive a TM81 X-Scissor.

The current team of the Santalune Gym consists of a butterfree, joltik, leavanny, scolipede, and larvesta. Trainers requiring assistance out in the wilds around Santalune may of already encountered these pokemon, or interacted with them around the city, or even during a work shop! They are known for wearing clothes and accessories.

Challengers have three choices in how to proceed to the gym leader. In all three cases, they will be searching through the indoor forest for trainers hiding in there, before returning to the center battlefield to fight! Gym trainers may camouflage themselves, climb up tree, take a nap in bushes, and tend to be dressed in costumes of various types, tending towards bug themes of course!

The first option (and frankly the most boring) is the three battle option. Simply find three gym trainers, beat them in a battle, and then fight the gym leader.

Dress Up involves just that - dressing up! Both the trainer and the pokemon participating in the challenge will either pick a premade costume, provide their own, or create one with materials and help provided. They will then seek out three gym trainers (colloquially referred to as 'the fashion police') to impress them with their style and flair! Unimpressed ones will challenge you to a battle in order to pass!

Ziggy's Leavanny Pomegranate enjoys fussing over challengers and making sure they're ready to go. In between battles challengers have time to fix up and make any adjustments to their costumes. Whether they win or lose, the challenger and their pokemon can keep the outfits!

Portrait involves making a portrait of themself and their pokemon, be it with paint, chalk, heck even materials for a cross stitch are provided! Much the same as the dress up,  the challenger will then seek out three gym trainers to try and impress with their portraits! Unimpressed ones will challenge you to a battle in order to continue on.

Zigg's Scolipede Papaya tends to accompany portait challengers with her saddle baskets full of art supplies. The docile bug horse will also step in if she believes the gym trainers are being unfair. Whether a challenger wins or loses, they can keep their portraits - or have them put on display in the gym!

Note that in all three options, the battles must occur in one sitting. Challengers are free to use recovery moves and items, but may not leave and return to continue the same challenge. In any sort of emergency case, call for Apple so that he may teleport you out.

The battlefield used for battles is a large rectangle of packed dirt surrounded by an indoor forest. It is located in back of the building, with a glass ceiling and a glass wall looking out and leading to the outside gardens. An artificial river runs from the inside to the outside. It is mainly pet and trainer pokemon that lurk indoors, though recovering wild pokemon also appear at times.

The Santalune Gym allows single challenger 2v2s, double challenger 2v2s, or single battles. In a single challenger battle, the challenger may use any number of pokemon. In a double challenger 2v2, each challenger may use two pokemon each, one out at a time. The Gym Leader will use three pokemon no matter the challenger(s) picks, taking into account any phobias that the challenger has informed the front desk about.

Challenges are reassured that though their first stage pokemon may be facing a Leavanny or Scolipede, both the bug pokemon and the trainer are familiar enough with their own strength and the consequences of their attacks to present a proper level of challenge to even the most inexperienced new trainer. Bug types grow and flourish quickly, and both Ziggy and his pokemon enjoy encouraging new growth in others!

The challenger may switch their pokemon at any point among the pokemon that have opted to use for that challenge. The Leader can only send out a new pokemon using specific moves such as Baton Pass, or when their pokemon is deemed unable to battle, and only from the pokemon they have chosen to use for that challenge.

Badges are always rewarded for causing the Gym Leader's pokemon to be deemed unable to battle, either by the referee, or by Ziggy calling an end to the fight.

Those who fail to win the battle may still be rewarded a badge based on how they have acted during their challenge. The Leader may act in specific ways to goad a challenger, see how they act under duress, and see how they treat their pokemon and the pokemon of others... even if people just think Ziggy's being his same old frivolous self. 'Smiley trash bag' indeed.