A tiny settlement at one of the highest spots on Sehto (atop the dormant Thorn volcano's crater ridge), Taqnateh is purely set up for pokémon trainers - it consists solely of the ominous pokémon gym set within the confines of a semi-ruined castle or cathedral of sorts (and in some continuities, a PokéMart and PokéCenter - but it's far more fun without them), catering to all clichés. Breaking through this all is a glaring yellow sign at the town's entrance: “Private property. No trespassing. Pokémon trainers only.”
The settlement is rather inaccessible, rather to detriment of its own inhabitant(s), who have to subsist on hardy and mostly tasteless plants grown in the area - or head down to Vale to acquire food, which is, not to beat around the bush, effectively impossible on foot. As such, Jagdish Tsukinaka tends to take care of errands, enlisting the aid of Teleportation- or Fly-friendly pokémon.
Descriptions from Sessions
Collected from Arsaga:
Either way, the broad path up leading up the mountain as a slope seems mostly devoid of life - apart from the occasional dry-looking bush, reminiscent perhaps of feinbos, the landscape seems to be purely made of rocks, jagged, as though the elements never weathered them away.
It was easy to get warm in the warmth-soaked air - it took both of them no time at all. It's a little bizarre, all things considered, given that the sky is so spotlessly clear, which usually drains warmth away from the ground at night at rapid speeds. But after two hours of ascending the slope - motions becoming more and more lethargic - the sky has drained of all remnants of colour, leaving the world as if encased in a black husk.
And then the world seems to dip - and the rocks part at each of their steps against the new view, yielding a bizarre sight… the half-ruined remnants of what may at one point have been a castle, particularly its left side collapsed in on itself, gothic in its designs, and the hinted specks of two other houses as the sole sign of civilisation up here… a true settlement: The gym, a PokéCenter and a PokéMart, eeriely nestled amongst the alien landscape, the highest point of the castle towering high above the rest of Sehto.
There seems to be no light here at all - but the white of a sign still prominently catches their eye in the dim starlight leaking down from above. 'Private property - do not trespass', with a smaller add-on below, in a less legible script: 'Gym circuit pokémon trainers only.'
The lack of activity is chillingly absolute, even though the air up here is, if anything, warmer than it had been immediately around Roaring Hollow, an almost soothing, inviting warmth, though starkly contrasted by the spikes of huge slabs of rock scattered around this miniature dale carved into the landscape. The castle seems unusual in some way, undefinably unsettling, as though its heavy wooden doors might contain demons rather than a gym, and shifting them open would be like taking the lid of Pandora's box…
The PokéCenter seems to be locked and closed up, perhaps for the night, perhaps forever? It's hard to tell - it doesn't look abandonned, at least. Neither does the PokéMart, though the same can be said for it - as much as they don't like the idea, it's going to have to be the castle… or a tedious way back to Vale with no new information.
And then the image of the Taqnateh settlement rises from beyond a rise, first hard to distinguish from more rocks, silhouetted as it is - before the outlines of worn architecture can been seen reaching up into the skies. A castle, or perhaps a cathedral - even if it wasn't half a ruin, it would be hard to tell. A few more steps, further up the rise. The world elbows its way back into Devi's conscious perception. “We're here,” she snaps, without intending the words to be heard by anyone, it motivated by a distant courteousness she had no conscious understanding for, not turning her head - likely oblivious as to whether any footsteps are crunching behind her or not. The path widens, winding through three short peaks, spreading into a plateau on which the entrance of the half-ruin building lies as heavy wooden doors, with a PokéCenter and a PokéMart in the other quasi-corners. Light burns dimly in latter, suggesting activity.
Collected from N'Sehla:
Beyond the shallow rise he's ascending, beautiful in its contrast to the modern feel of most Sehto cities, appears what looks like the ruins of a cathedral, reaching up into the cloud-covered, dark skies of eclipsing dusk of his eighth day. A flash of yellow catches his vision - a sign - but is ignored, instead spawning a fury that anything would seek to distract him. Just a bit further…
He peels his left arm from his rucksack, determination infused into every fibre of his body. Cross the plaza, then to the door. It has to be the gym, it can't be anything else. So close. He raises that arm, brushing water from his brows, narrowing his eyes as if to squint at the door, distantly aware of his aching bones, of the huff that is his breath.