Guidebook: The Ascua Region

[Mod Kurt]

Take the second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning!

The Ascua Region

The Ascua region was founded a few centuries ago by a man in search of somewhere to discover new species of Pokemon to put his name in the books. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, as no one seems to remember his name aside from the initials R. G. that are crudely engraved on a rather dilapidated grave in the region's oldest graveyards on the outskirts of Pinewood City.

Still, the Ascua region somehow thrived after R. G. first landed on its shores, with folks coming from all sorts of other regions to make their home on the mostly-temperate grounds. As such, Pokemon from all over have also been brought to these lands and sometimes it seems like you can't sneeze in a route without startling half a dozen different species into appearing.

As a whole, the Ascua region is fairly mild in temperature, with most places having few weather surprises. The region is almost split in two with the watery Routes 7 and 8 sandwiching the tropical Blue River Valley. Mostly grasslands and woods cover the first half of the region, with the exception of the colder Newsnow Village and Revihs City crediting their temperature drop due to the nearby caverns and being a bit cut off from the sunlight from being tucked in a corner of the region. The summer months do bring up the temperature a touch, but a frost always remains.

Past Route 8, the lands become drier with the help of the old Mt. Hotstreak that is hopefully a dormant volcano. Plains are evident around these parts until one travels past Diamond City, where the land decidedly becomes wetter. An old wives tale suggests that the usually-rainy weather is from the tears of the departed Pokemon laid to rest at Memory Tower on Route 11. For those not inclined to believe that, the weather is most likely due to the proximity of the sea comprised of Routes 12 and 13 providing the area with full rainclouds and small storms.

Nestled at the end of Route 12 is the Silven Center, which was most recently set up within the last decade as a thriving part of the community to celebrate both Pokemon battles and contests. Ascua's leading professor Nia Cypress is one of the most prominent and influential backers of Ascua's Pokemon League and Grand Festival. While her main specialty is in Pokemon habitats, she wholeheartedly believes in the science behind growing with one's Pokemon as a team during the exciting gym challenges and contests. The Hall of Fame awaits any trainer talented enough to come out on top in both the league and the festival.

Gaia Island is the newest addition to the Ascua region, finding its place in Route 13 close enough to Greenberry Town so the two can just see each other's shores on the horizon. A large island of useable land and wild Pokemon alike, Gaia Island is becoming a bustling port area where breeders are able to run their own ranches and marketstalls. Again, Professor Cypress is a prominent backer of Gaia Island, inviting the ranching community to join the rest of the region by regularly petitioning for Pokemon eggs to raise as starter Pokemon for Ascua's newest trainers.

Crime-wise, the Ascua region has been lucky not to be plagued with some team bent on world domination or replacing the current dimension with a new one or not finding anyone fashionable enough. This has probably been helped due to young, talented trainers in the past half a century or so helping to stop said organized crime. Most recently, a few years ago, a few trainers halted the resurgence attempt of the combined heads of said organized crime teams -- calling themselves Team Rainbow Rocket -- in the Alola region. As of this time, those known teams have been disbanded and scattered. While the world's law enforcements aren't so naive as to believe that there are not remnants of the teams out there, they are not overly worried about any stragglers.

Ascua is the perfect place to visit if one is looking for a new Pokemon League or Grand Festival to challenge, a ranch to settle down, or a collector looking to see how many Pokemon one can catch. With how young the region is, there are still plenty of mysteries to discover!

As this is a guide rather than ironclad rules, please let us know if there are any questions or clarifications needed on this by either PMing Mod Kris and Mod Kurt, or by posting in the Mod Informer board.