[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

"What does Ralts see, Nathan? Is the magical bastard trying to sneak attack us, or is he biding his time?" Ventus hoarsely growls out, voice getting sore from the constant shouting he has been doing. That research has some lungs, but his voice box can't handle him blasting it full volume for that long. Give that man a lozenge! "Apsis, can you smell the mage out? I know you snakes have an acute sense of smell, so maybe you can pick up a trail."

The aforementioned snake tilted her head at her master, before it started flicking its tongue out in the air, trying to smell out where the rude scary dude is bunkering down.

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan merely points in the direction Ralts is indicating. "Hmph. Looks like we're not going to catch him now. He's fleeing into the swamp much faster than we'll be able to move. Even if I were to pursue him on Swiftfire." The red haze Nathan had been seeing finally begins to fade. In fact, he's tired. Very tired. "Good job, Swiftfire. You did well, driving him off like that. Same goes for you, Ralts." Nathan looks around at the scene now that the metal man has disappeared. He now notices the RV, dented and on its side and stuck in the mud again. Larry now only has 3 pokemon out instead of 4. Ventus's pokemon are all gathered around the spot the man was once at. Shiva isn't outside. She must still be in the RV with everyone else.

'Dang it. What IS he?! He seems more machine than man, yet he has the ability to create and manipulate swamps?!' Nathan is still furious despite how tired he is, this time moreso because of what the man just did and how he got away. He looks ready to punch something. "Whatever he is, he's not entirely human. Nobody should be able to do that kind of stuff or take that much punishment without at least flinching. And now he's gotten the RV stuck in the mud AGAIN!"

[Lord Windos]

Ventus let out a long sigh of relief, glad to hear that the arch mage has finally been driven off. "Well, even though the wizard got away, we sure left a tan in there hide they won't soon forgot. May that wizard drown in his own power!" the researcher replied, before walking over to the spot where Apsis and Michael were keeping watch. Crouching down, he patted both on the heads, and gave them a brilliant smile.

"Excellent job, brother and sister. Thanks to your help, we were able to drive away that madman, so I'll certainly reward you both...once we get out of this swamp. Now get some rest, my family," Ventus said to his Pokémon, before recalling them into their Pokeball. After stowing the balls away, he finally takes a good long look at his surroundings, analyzing any detail he can pick up.  'The RV is firmly lodge into the mud; we will need Swiftfire's and the Psychict types help in dragging out and turning it around towards Ginger Town. The damage, while looking dire, should only be superficial, so the van should still be operable, thank Reshirem,' Ventus though, reviewing a plan of how to get the RV back onto the road safely.

"Shiva was stuck in there, though- I just hope she isn't too shaken up by the battle. Especially after her run in with the Murkow. Then their is the fainted Pokémon to consider...did they sustain any damage during the brawl. Oh dear..." Ventus mumbled to himself, worried about the state of the RV occupants. Feeling the sudden spike of wrath from Nathan, the researcher decided that he could put off checking on them for a moment. Now's the time to calm his friend down, just like they did for him.

Walking towards Nathan and Swiftfire, Ventus began to calmly speak with the young trainer, hoping to soothe him. "My friend, my friend, waylay that anger! The arch mage got away, yes, but everyone is relatively unharmed from there assault, so let's count our blessing indeed. I doubt this is the last we will see the mage anyway; the fey and arcane rarely leave well alone, once exposed," he said, trying his best to consul Nathan. Anger was perfectly fine, but they were in the middle of hostile territory; best vent elsewhere, lest they get ambushed again. "Now, let us dig the van out again. With Swiftfire's, Ralts, and Mr. Mime's help, would should be able to get it back on the road in no time!" Ventus said, showing his most comforting smile to the trainer as possible. He just hope his message is well received...

[Dragonstrike]

"Ventus, whatever he was using in that battle, I doubt magic is the explanation. Whatever he is, there's still a part of him that's human enough for Ralts to sense his presence. There's got to be some sort of reasonable explanation..." He's still angry. Mostly at the metal man (for various reasons), but now also at Ventus's insistence that magic had been involved and congratulations to his pokemon when it was Nathan's that did practically all of the work.

Looking at the RV again, Nathan sighs once more. He isn't so sure simply baking the surrounding mud and digging it out is going to work as well this time. Without another word to Ventus, though, he goes and gets the shovel from the RV again. "Swiftfire, you know what to do, right?" He also makes sure everyone in the RV knows that being in it is not safe right now. They'd try and dig out the surrounding mud first. Maybe they'd think of a way to pull it upright while doing so...

[Lord Windos]

"You may not believe in it, but magic is very real. If you can explain how he was able to control the earth like putty, then be my guest," Ventus said somewhat irritably, not happy with the fact that Nathan is still denying the existence of arcane. He saw what the wizard was capable of with his own eye; surely its not too much of a stretch to say he was casting spells, is it? 'Humans in the past where capable of harnishing the elements to their advantage, but I thought those practices had all but been lost. Looks like someone is reviving these fell arts,' Ventus thought to himself, going over his own mental database on the fey and magical.

Sighing a bit, he waved away any rebuttal that came his way. "Now's not the time to argue about this anyway. We will have more than enough time in Ginger time to do that; let's get to unlodging this van from the muck." Taking the other shovel available, he once again took the task of unearthing the RV. 'I just hope this is the last time we have to do this,' the researcher though mournfully to himself. He failed in dispersing Nathan's anger, but maybe some hard labor could work it out of his system.

[Iron]

It is taking forever to dig the RV out. A thin layer of muck underneath keeps caving in the sides, undoing your hard work. It's two steps forward, one step back. Ember helps though.

Geodude pitches in, seems he likes to dig. He takes a lot of naps in between though, and he won't dig anywhere the ground is moist.

[Lord Windos]

"Hmm...this is troublesome. Perhaps Swiftfire should dry out everything around the RV first, before we continue on with the digging?" Ventus says to Nathan, analyzing the predicament they were in. Turning towards the driver's cab, he told Belle, "Mr. Mime could also use his Barriers to prop up the parts of the RV we manage to dig out, so that they don't sink right back in again" Rubbing his hands together to work out the aches, he waits for his friend to respond before he starts digging again. They should both have a set course of action, in the end.

[Dragonstrike]

"Gah. We're making no progress here. It's too far into the mud. And propping up the RV is no good if Mr. Mime can only hold one Barrier at a time. It'll take hours at this rate...we don't have that kind of time. We need to get out of here. If only we had a way to keep the mud from sliding back into place...wait, maybe we do...Mr. Mime, could you hold the loose mud back with some Barriers while Swiftfire solidifies it?" This is incredibly frustrating. Nathan's not in the mood for more frustration, either. If his idea doesn't work, he might be inclined to just say they should leave the RV and walk the rest of the way to Ginger Town.

[Iron]

After way too much time, you get the RV out of the mud and onto a nice Barrier. Larry tasks Oshawott to bring Mr. Mime drinks of water to keep his strength up.

The evil feeling of the swamp has mostly faded. In fact, when you finally reach the edge, you can see it receding inch by inch. The grass shrinks toward normal size, the water drains into the earth as it is supposed to do. And you find a flourishing Ranc Berry bush, enough for you each to have one Ranc Berry! (These increase happiness faster than any other berry, if you recall).

After another mile, you reach the Route Gate of Ginger Town! There are not one, not two, but four route guards in the guardhouse. Two run out to open the vehicle lane. They ask for Belle's vendor pass, but when she explains about the fainted Miltank and Plusle, the two use their whistles and batons to form a speed lane through the dense crowds of the festival, which hasn't even officially begun yet.

Miltank and Plusle are soon getting the care they need. You are offered rooms at the Pokemon Center - they have a modular building that can be expanded during Festival times and Running times.

Belle and Tramp bid you farewell and head off to their assigned spot to start selling her beadwork while they wait on Miltank. Mr. Mime heads off to entertain/scare the children. "He's irrepressible," says Belle fondly. Soon he has acquired a balloon as a prop for his mimicry, and a stash of sweets to hand out.



The outside of Ginger Town is left wild; it's full of spring wildflowers and trees. People have set up tents among the flowers and are getting to know each other there, or working on campfire meals. Trainers and their Pokemon are running the racecourse through the woods, which encircles the perimeter of the town.

[Iron]

FESTIVAL!!

It's spring, and Ginger Town is going to make sure everyone knows it!!

The town has been transformed for the Festival. Plants now occupy every cranny of every building. The doors of every business are wide open, and people are milling in and out to collect free food and giveaways. Brightly colored decorations are everywhere, and the streets are paved with confetti. A single red and yellow streamer stretches from one end of town to the other, proclaiming the 350th Spring Festival held at Ginger Town, over and over in sparkling colors and glitter.

The Pokemon are on their best behavior. A Camerupt gives slow rides around the festival grounds. Three Snivy in tuxedos and bowties trot here and there, offering informational pamphlets to people. Hoppip, in groups of four, have been lashed together with soft netting and streamers; they float about like balloons. For $500, you can get a message hung from these attractive living decorations. A troop of Butterfree is tasked with keeping the Hoppip visible from the city and not letting them float away. The pink Pokemon just smile down on the proceedings.

Vendor booths are assigned a color at random, so no two stalls look alike, and all form a brilliant mosaic of brightness. They have tents and stalls and tables, and not a few RVs like Trax. None are so battered or so customized, though. There's a fortune teller with his Slowpoke. There's a trainer selling berries his Aipom and Zigzagoon have collected. There are deals to be had - with a little shopping around, you can find any basic trainer item for 20% off. Ginger Town also has a specialty item to commemorate their events. It's called a Flash Ball ($200), which takes a beautiful 3D hyperrealistic photograph of wherever it is thrown, in a blinding flash. No detail is left unrecorded.

The crowd is vast, and must be entertained. There's a puppet show starring an all-Pokemon cast of fake characters. There's a husker playing the shell game with three "cups", which are actually Shellder. "Win a little pearl! Just guess where it is!"

Or you could play the Magikarp Game, $500 per player. You and another player draw a live Magikarp out of the tank, which you get to keep. Each has a number painted on the side - if the numbers match, that's a prize!

There are competitions for each attribute - swing a hammer to test your strength, walk the tightrope to test dexterity, guess the number of plastic Berries in a jar to test Insight, and a contest to see who can hold their breath longest underwater (Vitality!)

As you look around, a trainer comes up to you and asks if you'd like to be put on the mailing list for the Pokemon Running, which should be happening in a few weeks to a few months.

Oh yes, there's plenty for trainers to do. There are several stations set up for trading, with big boards announcing Pokemon sought.
There are designated battle arenas, naturally, with a few participants. But the battle arenas are overshadowed by the vast Shuckleball arena!

"Shuckleball, Shuckleball, SHUCKLEBALL!!" calls the Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Pins.
His low walls surround a large area, filled with random obstacles from rocks to bouncy cushions to living Pokemon. As you watch, someone's Machop is lining up a shot, and sends Shuckle bouncing around toward the goal areas.
Hopefully, Machop will win a prize!