[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

Do you put the Pokeballs away?

Tramp revs the RV a bit but he can't go forward or backward.

[Dies Irae]

"If that's what is irking you, Sir..." He clips the Pokeballs back to his belt slots without breaking eye-contact.

"Good faith, see. Way I see it, you want more of the biscuit. Which, as I established earlier, you can't get in the wild. So... put down the rock and let's talk."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

"Ehm... Vincent... " Shiva turns to him now who tried to win the Geodude for aid, taking care not to do or say anything that might lead things into a misfortune direction. "Tell it it could have all of these as well."

In her both open hands, were the rest of sliced fruit she still had... It wasn't that much, but it wasn't little either. All of them still looked fine and edible.

[Dies Irae]

"You were watching me earlier. And you came after me for food just now. And you've stuck around. You want this bad. Makes sense?"

Without missing a beat, he nods to Shiva slightly, still not taking his eyes of the 'dude and continues.

"So we sweeten the pot some. Fruit, I believe."

Enough carrot. Time for the stick.

"You're along a public route, rocky. That means it's full of trainers. Trainers means Pokemon. Probably some water, more than a little grass. And unlike me, I can't vouch that the rest will be so understanding, especially since you basically mugged me. So before this gets ugly, you want to hear terms?"

[Iron]

Geodude holds up one big hand and closes its eyes, as if to say "Oh please, enough already." (because all this is your fault, not Geodude's).

Then it trundles over to the hole it made and evens it out. The RV drops onto level ground. So Geodude floats over to Vincent and holds out its hands for more hardtack.

"Ha ha!" says Tramp. "There's something you don't see everyday. And don't worry: those rocks would have had a lot of invisible barriers to contend with. Hey, have you guys heard from any trainers out of the east? I've heard some weird rumors about unusual amounts of overactive Water and Grass Pokemon on the way to Ginger Town. Could be you'll have to fight your way through."

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan's eyebrows shoot up when he hears that. "Really? More riled up wild pokemon? We just came from the west, and there were already enough aggravated ones as is. They weren't grass and water types, but there was something strange about them being there anyways."

[Dies Irae]

"Deals a deal." Vincent empties out the pack of hardtack into the Geodude's outstretched hand.

"THAT ENDED BETTER THAN EXPECTED. I WAS WAITING FOR HIM TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE." The officer shrugs and returns to his mental filing.

"You basically live here, don't you? Figure you'll at least appreciate having some help filling that back in and fixing up your place. Since you've been such a good sport with having a vehicle fall through your roof, if you know what you need done, I'll chip in and help."

[Super_trainer_Larry]

Led by Larry and Ventus, the party makes its way down Route 01. The number of eager trainers creates a palpable sense of tension in the air. Ralts in particular sometimes feels like he is physically slowed by their competitive gazes, as if they are a barrier of molasses.

So Nathan lags behind just a bit, and he is the first to hear it.

"BEEP. BEEEP."
"dungadungadungadungadungawhirrrrr"
"BEEEEP BEEP"
"Hey, watch it!"
"beep beep"
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

What? What was that last bit, especially?

A humongous RV comes rattling down Route 01. The tread on those tires is so huge it doesn't mind the occasional pothole or muddy spot. Despite many wide windows, the drivers don't seem to see a few trainers or Pokemon who barely get out of the way. Clearly, its owner fancies himself a bit of an engineer, for there are add-ons and gadgets conglomerated onto the sides and roof and undercarriage. Not even Larry or Ventus know what they all might do. This thing is to self-contained vehicles what your tent is to a tarp and string.

But that's not even the strangest thing about it. There seems to be a COW on the ROOF - a Miltank, to be precise. It's standing happily on all fours, looking about in all directions, feeling the wind in her fur. Whenever the RV hits a pothole, Miltank jutters about and her bell rings wildly. But she never loses her footing or her confidence. "Mooooo!"

There is a crunch as the RV pitches headfirst into a trench (3' deep, 3' wide, 10' long) that wasn't there before. A Geodude climbs proudly out of the trench and assaults Vincent, stealing some more of his rock-hard hardtack. Then it follows the party at a respectful distance, chewing.

A big, happy face pops out of the RV window.
The man is wearing a straw hat and an Alolan shirt. He is very sunburnt and rather chubby.
The passenger side window opens too, admitting a beaming woman with copious amounts of hair. At the rear window, a clown's head appears behind the glass, pressing its big white palms on the window. It makes despondent faces at you, then laughs silently.
Ralts picks up a rolling wave of good cheer from the RV, its two human occupants, and the two Pokemon inside (or on top, in Miltank's case).

"The name's Tramp. This is my wife, Belle. Meet Miltank, up on the roof, and Barrinerd. Finally, this hunkajunk stuck in the muck is Trax. Little help, trainers?"

Larry thought to himself " Are you for real arceus, these people are the worst thing to happen to me since my second brother and the first girl who had a crush on me combined!" So Larry walked up with a smile and just sat there quietly and listen to what every on said

[Lord Windos]

Eventually, after a long and scenic walk with his Togepi, Ventus rendezvoused with the rest of the comrades. Seeing Shiva, he waved happily to her, and was about to talk about his fight with the Carnivine, when he spotted Vincent and Nathan lurking in the background. He immedianlty lost all desire to communicate at that moment, and just silently moved himself to the periphery of the gathering. Still, even with his silence and distance from the main group, he was still keen enough (if rattled) to spot the new addition to their teams.

'A Staryu and Pidgy  for Nathan and Vincent, respectively. Looks like today has been productive for expanding the team, but dispite that, I'll keep mine small. It give me more time to train and bond with Raphael and Apsis, and it affords me the time to contemplate what sort of Pokémon would be best for my team," Ventus though, quietly analyzing interactions between the new additions and his comrades. He is a sociologist by trade, after, and it would be remiss of him not to gather data relevant to his research. Even if it was from people he was currently estranged from.

'Well, I sent my offer and olive branch to Vincent to explain why yesterday's...drama happened, so the ball is in his court now, so to speak. I'll have to open up to the rest of the group about this information, but not now. Not until I hear Vince's response to my...past,' he thought, looking at how everyone was reacting to him. Both Nathan and Vincent were tense, and were just as eager to avoid interaction and ignore him as well. Shiva, while she may hide it well, was frustrated with those two men for their ignorant actions, mainly because of the potential danger they could have put themselves in. The only one not affected by this trauma was Larry, who was quite obliviously chilling with his companions. 'Makes sense, since he was not present for my outrage yesterday,' Ventus though.

After awhile of talking and eating a small meal, everyone departed from the campsite and continued down the route. Ventus lagged behind, both to avoid Nathan/Vincent as much as possible, and to disassemble the tent and put it away. By the time he was done, he put away Raphael in its Pokeball, and everyone was gone out of sight. "....I better catch up with them, I suppose. I don't savor the idea of a reunion with some of my comrades, but it has to happen someday. Unless I just want to abandon them entirely, but I don't think relationships have but strain quite to that point," Ventus mumbled to himself, before quickly jogging after them.

He thought that it would have taken him a bit longer to re-conviene with them, but it appears that they were all stopped by a....well. 'I don't know what to call it, but its a wild mess, that is for sure,' he thought, silently observing the chaos that was happening. After seeing Vincent attempt to barter with a Geodude to join his team, though, Ventus just put a hand to his face and sighed. "Hello...my comrade. It seem that you've gotten involved in some sort of trouble, so why don't I go on ahead to Ginger Town and try and find some room and board for us? Warm shelter beats roughing it in the outdoors, and I think I would just make things worse here if I got involved. I don't rightly know what's even happening, so..."

[Iron]

Geodude gruffly waves you off. Seems wherever he lays his head is home. He sinks down into a rocky/muddy spot on the side of the road and takes a quick nap, one eye opening occasionally to make sure no one is trying to catch him. Only his eyes and forehead are visible above the groundline.