Ísland: A Guidebook
Just coming off the boat, and you’re dressed warm! That’s always a good thing to see from a traveler! Velkomin til Ísland! Welcome to Ísland! I’m Elsa, and I’ll be giving you a tour of my hometown while also talking about what Ísland has to offer a tourist like you! Come on, follow me!
Introduction: Ísland’s an island a few hundred miles off the coast of Avalon, in the giant ocean. However, this island is known for more than just snow. There’s so many different things to see here, from volcanoes, glaciers, Viking tribes, fishermen, farmers, valleys and grasslands! It’s been the home of the Vikings for as long as I can remember, and that’s just over 500 years! Yes, I’m that old, but I love this place! She’s home for me. Come on in and I’ll take you to our capital city!
History: Well, Ísland was first settled by the Vikings in the late 800s. They set up our capital city, Reykjarvik here since it was so close to some steam vents and a perfect place for ships to sail from. She’s a harbor city, and our biggest source of trade from outside countries when they decide to come up here! Over time, some Pokemon from the three major Viking tribes from northern Avalon, the Thundundra, the Tortrombdo, and Landstradrus came to settle here and made their homes on different parts of the island (more on that in a bit). They generally keep to themselves and keep to their own parts of the island, but they come to the Viking Parliament not that far away from here to set up new laws for Ísland’s people. You’ll see a lot of settlements, but Reykjarvik is the biggest city here and the main gathering place for the Pokemon on the island.
Culture: We’re a very diverse (when it comes to Vikings) island here. We have a mix of all different types of Pokemon, and the mixture depends on where you go. For example, the Pokemon in the Thundundra tribe are primarily Normal, Electric, Poison and Ice types. They’re expert hunters, and are often seen hunting wild Pokemon in the valleys to the east. The Landstradrus feature Steel, Rock, Ground and Psychic types, which do a great deal of farming in small towns outside of the capital, and the Tortrombdo feature Fighting, Water, Dark and Flying types, and they’re excellent sailors and fishermen here in the capital and along the southern coast. This is probably one of the only places where you’ll see members of all three tribes living together without fighting on a daily basis. On certain occasions, you will see other types in the city, like myself. Fire-types like myself prefer to live in the city, along with Ghost-types. Good luck trying to find a large settlement of Grass Pokemon, simply because there’s so much snow here! But there are some Grass Pokemon that do live in the capital. Here in the capital, you’ll find tradesmen and women of almost every type. We have hunters, farmers, blacksmiths, jewelers, tailors, leatherworkers, sailors and fishermen.
Patrons: Let me put it to you this way. Although each Viking tribe has their own respective patrons back in their homeland, here there are two Pokemon that protect the island and shape it into what it is today. They are Entei and Suicune. Legends say that Entei is responsible for the eruptions of the volcanoes here on Ísland. Eyjafjallajökull and Katla are two of the volcanoes that are well-known to anyone who comes here or lives here. As for Suicune, it’s not known as the Bringer of the North Wind for nothing, let me tell you! Legends say it’s responsible for the glaciers here on the island, along with the rivers and lakes here. You can tell when Entei and Suicune are active when geysers burst more often than normal, or when glaciers melt partially from volcanic heat. When things are calm, Entei and Suicune are generally keeping watch over the island together.
Architecture: Architecture here in Iceland is VERY diverse, especially if you head out toward the settlements to the south and east of here. The Tortrombdo have been primarily responsible for the construction of our capital city, and the other tribes have also made it very unique. The city’s basically a fortress against the elements. There are a lot of wood and stone buildings, and the buildings are very close together here in the capital! Circular wood, mud and stone buildings can be seen in the eastern part of Iceland, where the Thundundra live, and the Landstradrus live in wood houses that feature grass from the grasslands to provide comfort and warmth, and they have farms since most of those Pokemon are farmers. Small wooden houses are also seen on the coast for regular fishermen and women.
Food: If you want diverse foods, you’ve come to the right place! Reykjarvik is the main trading place for all three tribes, and you’ll see farmers selling their goods here and hunters coming here with BIG catches of Bouffalant, Tauros and Miltank. As for our fishermen, THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! GREAT CATCH, YOU GUYS! Give those guys over there a cheer, will ya! Listen to this crowd! Reykjarvik is a fishing town, first and foremost, and what those boys are bringing in is a rare treat! Let’s go check it out! Hey, boys, where’d you get this beast?
“Good to see you, Elsa, and thanks. He put up a mean fight. Showing a traveler around?”
Yeah. Our fishermen head out and go hunting for just about any sea life there is out here. We generally get Seaking on our plates, and some other boats bring back hauls of Corphish, Crawdaunt, Krabby and Kingler, but we like our food with plenty of meat and juices on it. What you’re looking at is a very rare catch here, a WAILORD. When someone brings one of these into town, you’ll know because everyone will be cheering like crazy. These things are fierce fighters but are delicious to eat. Here, let me cook a sample for you. Good, ain’t it?
“Aye, we got a good one, lass. Tell your husband we said hello, will ya? This one’s about twenty years old. He’s smaller than the bigger Wailord we’ve seen, but we’ll get everything out of him! Good to see you, lass!”
Thanks! Anyway, we often get Spheal, Sealeo, Walrein and Wailmer out here, but a Wailord catch is a huge prize for anyone in town. We also get plenty of berries from the farmers out to the south, and they’re absolutely delicious, especially when they’re combined with the meats from the east and the seafood here! You’ll definitely be enjoying some delicious food while you stay here!
Weather, Geography and Climate: Ísland’s extremely diverse climate-wise. We have plenty of grassy valleys to the east, where the Thundundra live. Those valleys are full of thick evergreen forests along with grasslands, and often are near rivers and lakes. They’re very pretty to look at! As for the south, you get to see so much yellow grass it’s amazing. It’s a grassy plain for miles, and there are many wild Pokemon that live out there! You’ll find plenty of wild berry plants out there, and if you head for the southern coast, you’ll find Water/Flying types like Ducklett and Swanna patrolling the beaches for food, like Dwebble and Krabby. Flying types also patrol the skies above the island, and you’ll often see them soaring overhead.
Just outside of the capital, you will see MILES of gorgeous black sand beach. It’s absolutely beautiful to see, and you can walk on it for a long time. The waves are also picture perfect, but the water is VERY COLD. The black sand is made from volcanic eruptions and water hitting the volcanic rock made from the volcanoes. Snow is also frequent out here, and if you get caught in a snowstorm, find shelter as soon as possible. When I was a young Vulpix, I got caught in a snowstorm and would have frozen if a Lampent blacksmith hadn’t come to rescue me. We spent the night under the snow until we could make it back to my parents’ house in the capital. He evolved into a Chandelure after I gave him a Dusk Stone for saving me. His name was Ljos, and I call him my uncle. He said he was going on adventures, and I think I heard he might have gone to a place called Aether. I’d like to see him again! He definitely has stories about Ísland that he could tell you, too!
Once you get to the Highlands, expect snow all the time. Only the bravest Pokemon dare venture up there, and they’re usually packing all kinds of gear because it can plunge to negative temperatures in a hurry. Ice-types like Swinub and Piloswine are right at home in the Highlands, along with Cubchoo and Beartic, and you will occasionally see a Snover or Abomasnow out there as well. The valleys up there aren’t as easy to traverse, and it takes weeks for expeditions to make it through the Highlands. You’ll see plenty of snow and ice out there. One of the most notorious places in the Highlands is the Valley of Doom. It’s a brutal twenty-five mile stretch that leads to the summit of Eyjafjallajökull, one of the highest points on Iceland, but the weather there is absolutely horrible. It’s constantly snowing, and you generally have to expect a whiteout or blizzard-like conditions.
Adventurous Pokemon take on the Icelandic glaciers, but they are extremely dangerous for anyone. You have to have years of experience and plenty of cold-weather gear to take on one of the glaciers, otherwise you’ll wind up so frozen that you’ll look like a statue. The glaciers are near the volcanoes, but they’re constantly moving. They’re also extremely dangerous because they have large gaps in the ice called crevasses, which are generally hidden by snow. Look out for them, because it’s a long way down to the bottom of a crevasse, and they can vary in size. Some of the bravest have set up cabins near the snowy peaks, but they’re almost impossible to get to, especially in winter! Temperatures can plunge to over -30 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
Finally, there are the volcanoes. These things look beautiful, but when they erupt the eruptions are spectacular and very dangerous. On some occasions, you can see the beautiful lava erupting. It’s a bright red, yellow and orange, and it glows beautifully at night. Generally, when the volcanoes erupt, you’ll see massive ash clouds from the tops of the volcanoes that go miles into the sky. People usually stay indoors during eruptions since the ash isn’t safe.
Well, I hope you enjoy your stay in Ísland! There are plenty of Pokemon here that would be more than willing to help you. Our traders make excellent goods and they love it when travelers watch them work, and our restaurants and hotels would be more than welcome to see a new face! Enjoy your stay here!
Elsa the Ninetales
Guide written by: GoldLeader27
Original post: A Guide to Ísland