[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

Shiva doesn't feel at all bewitched by the flowers.

[Lord Windos]

Shiva doesn't feel at all bewitched by the flowers.

(Doesn't matter for Ventus; remember, he HATES those flowers with a passion rivaled only by his hatred for the fae and wizards. Point is, he doesnt't trust them at all! Also, fell free to progress past that scene, as I'm willing to just tailor/edit my next post to respond to Shiva specifically [Or just leave said response hanging, like I've done with other posts].)

[Dragonstrike]

(No, don't progress past it yet. I still have to type up Nathan's piece concerning it)

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan didn't stop her when she went inside the tent.  Just sat there for awhile.

She wasn't going to tell him a damn thing.

And she had given almost the exact same response as before.

One Nathan KNEW was wrong, and had even told her was wrong the first time she said it.

Ralts don't evolve randomly.

They don't evolve by emulating another's happiness.

Only when they are really, truly, genuinely happy for their own reasons do they evolve into Kirlia.

He'd read everything he could on the evolution line when he'd found Ralts one year ago.  Everything.  He knew their capabilities almost as well as the Ponyta line's.  That explanation might fly with anyone unfamiliar with the evolution line, but not with Nathan.  Not a chance.

And it certainly wasn't just because Ralts had been happy Shiva was around.  Kirlia had made it VERY clear that he was still Nathan's pokemon the day he had evolved.  And he hadn't been that happy around her before her last day at the Daycare...

Whatever she knew, it was related to Ralts's evolution and the Daycare on Route 02 (based on Ralts having the same smug attitude when they visited the Daycare to pick up the egg), and she wasn't willing to trust him with that info.  She'd even confirmed just now that it had something to do with the Daycare, whether she intended to or not.

What could have possibly made Ralts happy enough to evolve? What did it have to do with the Daycare of all places?

And while he appreciated her understanding of how difficult a topic the past was, she'd left while he was still trying to decide if he should tell her now or not.

Kirlia wasn't telling Nathan anything else right now, other than confirming that he didn't evolve just because Shiva was around, and that it DEFINITELY has something to do with the Daycare.

"I don't get it, Kirlia.  What's so important to keep secret about the Daycare?  Why is she outright lying to me?  I'm almost certain she knows the answer she's giving is wrong, particularly since I pointed it out last time she tried to give me that excuse...I'm not mad at you, by the way.  I can tell you know exactly what's going on, and I trust you aren't telling me for a good reason...but she won't even give me an inch of progress on this...I just...I don't know...I feel like I've failed, somehow..."

Kirlia attempts to comfort him, but it doesn't help that much this time.  Whatever Shiva knows, she's not willing to trust the information with Nathan, and it hurts him emotionally.

She trusted Ventus with it though.

"Maybe...Ven knows more..."  Kirlia is quick to shake his head.  Ventus knows only as much as Nathan does right now.  Kirlia might have been busy dancing with the pearl at the time, but that same pearl had helped him glean that much while Nathan had been discussing the topic with Ventus.  "Arceus damn it.  Why'd she trust him with even that much information?  I just...feel so shunned..."

He hangs his head, and faint sobs can be heard.  

It continues for awhile.  And with Ventus and Shiva fast asleep, there's nobody to hear it except his own pokemon.

Eventually, it stops, and he gets up and goes inside the tent after recalling his pokemon.  He has to get some amount of sleep still, after all.

In the morning, it's business as usual.  He doesn't say a word to anyone other than 'Good morning.'  He helps put away the tent, feeds his pokemon, double checks that he has all his gear still...everything except holding a conversation.  It doesn't take long for the group to continue towards Corsage.  Him, Valder, Ventus, and Shiva.   (I assume Nathan still hasn't met Sage at this point because there's been no official 'meet up' with him so far.  He might be travelling with the group, but I'm assuming it's at some sort of distance currently.  If Kirlia has noticed his presence, Nathan's probably having Kirlia keep an eye on the mysterious newcomer's intentions and only plans to react if he has good reason to)

Flash Forward!

Nathan starts inspecting the area for any hint of a meteor impact, while also keeping an eye out for any rare pokemon or hints of one being there.

When Shiva comes over to pick some flowers and Ventus stops her from putting them in a crate, Nathan doesn't say a thing.  What he does say something about though, in a slightly passive aggressive tone, is Lucifer.  "Ventus if you could please keep your bat from destroying these flowers, that'd be fantastic.  It's not helping him with getting on Kirlia's good side.  And Kirlia, I know you don't like Lucifer much, but do NOT act aggressively toward him, understand?  We're still talking about that at a later point, just so you know."

Kirlia just narrows his eyes at both Nathan and Lucifer.  The stare is as piercing as daggers.  He doesn't make any moves towards Lucifer though.

Shiva had picked two of the flowers.  Lucifer had shredded one, making it practically worthless.  That left one still in the ground.  Kirlia was standing protectively over that one.

(Okay, NOW you can progress the encounter, @Iron)

[Lord Windos]

Flash Forward!

Nathan starts inspecting the area for any hint of a meteor impact, while also keeping an eye out for any rare pokemon or hints of one being there.

When Shiva comes over to pick some flowers and Ventus stops her from putting them in a crate, Nathan doesn't say a thing.  What he does say something about though, in a slightly passive aggressive tone, is Lucifer.  "Ventus if you could please keep your bat from destroying these flowers, that'd be fantastic.  It's not helping him with getting on Kirlia's good side.  And Kirlia, I know you don't like Lucifer much, but do NOT act aggressively toward him, understand?  We're still talking about that at a later point, just so you know."

Kirlia just narrows his eyes at both Nathan and Lucifer.  The stare is as piercing as daggers.  He doesn't make any moves towards Lucifer though.

Shiva had picked two of the flowers.  Lucifer had shredded one, making it practically worthless.  That left one still in the ground.  Kirlia was standing protectively over that one.

(Okay, NOW you can progress the encounter, @Iron)

Ventus clicked his tounge a bit, a bit annoyed that his alternate plan to be rid of those blasted deyo went up in smoke, but he just nodded his head at Nathan. "Lucifer, I know those flowers bother you in a...similar way to myself, but please refrain from mauling the flowers. My friend has a vested interest in collecting them, and I'm not certain its safe for you to chew through them like that, so return to your perch," Ventus responded, snapping his finger to punctuation his whole remark.

The little devil let out a somewhat disappoint screech- it was so much fun tearing these strange flowers to bits! -but it aquisted a fell back to the researcher's shoulder. As soon as he landed there, he detect Kirlia's scorn, and sunk back away from its glare, letting out a warbling hiccup of sound. What had it done now to anger the dancing fairy now? It just wanted to be friends with them, not be mortal enemies!

Sensing the sheer amount of distress that his Niobat, he sent a particularly venomous Glare at the tactern Kirlia, before addressing Nathan. His stare never left the Psychic type, however. "Nathan, while it may be overstepping my bounds in this instance, get your Kirlia under control. You very well know the dangers of a moody Psychic type is, since I informed you at the start of your journey, but its especially problematic in given that his Fairy typing makes him all the more capricious. Either start exerting more control over his behavior, or teach them how to restrain their emotional outbursts. They are causing clear distress to Lucifer for no adequate reason at this point, so please reign them in." All during that conversation, he was sending a clear, resounding message to the young fae : Cease your hostility, or I will.

Slowly, he turned his gaze from Kirlia, and focus on Nathan once more. This time, now that he wasn't distracted by either Shiva or Lucifer, he finally noticed that something was not quite right with his friend's emotional state. From what he could tell, someone was causing him...distress? Ven's eyebrows scrunched together in slight worry, looking rather concern for the young trainer now; a vast departure to the staredown he just had with their Pokémon. Taking a quick look a Shiva, he moved away from her briefly, getting closer to Nathan, before whispering to them : "Nathan, what has caused you to become so bothered? Did your conversation with Shiva stir up things between you two once more?"

[Iron]

Nathan searches around while Ventus talks to him. There it is - the meteor crater they've all been expecting! This one is dry, old, and eroded. There are no strange Pokemon about - only a few Rattata living in a nest in the crater.

There are a few splinters of holographic mineral, similar to mica but a dark red, available to the careful searcher in the meteor crater. It seems like every rainstorm probably washes a few of these up into the sunlight after being buried many many years.

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan turns towards Ventus when he comments on reigning Kirlia in. He sounds REALLY annoyed. "Ventus, you know as well as I do that there is a clear reason Kirlia is acting hostile towards your Noibat currently. And I don't know if you picked up on it, but Kirlia certainly noticed that Lucifer is attracted to these flowers as well, and isn't destroying them because he hates them. Which I find odd, but I guess it's not just fairies that find these flowers interesting. And if Azurill doesn't care, well...anyways, I said no destroying the flowers needlessly, and I can't say I disagree with Kirlia's current decision entirely. I'm not going to reprimand Kirlia for guarding them since I intend to collect them. I will talk to him about his behavior around Lucifer later, but I trust he will follow my order to not act aggressively towards your dragon for the time being. If you can't do the same, we might have a problem." Nathan resumes his search without another word. Kirlia is giving Ventus the dagger stare now, too.

It doesn't take long to find the crater, thankfully.

'Well, this looks like an old one. No signs of any rare pokemon...I wonder...is it possible it was Comite itself that caused this? It's not a particularly big rock pokemon, but if it was traveling at high speeds when it hit the ground...the leftover rocks are dark red, though...well, if it's old, the pokemon that came with it is probably long gone by now...'

And then Ventus asks about his conversation with Shiva.

"It's nothing you need concern yourself with. Come on, let's get back on the path. There's nothing here besides those Rattata and the Deyo Flowers. Oh, and if you would give me the flowers you took from Shiva, that'd be great. I doubt you want to hold on to them, and they're of little use in small bunches anyways."

That's all he says. He has no reason to talk with Ventus about the matter right now. Kirlia already confirmed everything he could possibly know right now.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

What a nice crater. Somewhat. It had the aura of space around, clearly visible... Well, not like Shiva was able to see aurad like a Lucario, but the presence was clearly there.

... ... ... Wait a moment... It must have something to do with her newest catch, that one Nathan adressed as 'Comite'... I mean, if they're rumored to come from space, how could it not... Ah, toi bad she hadn't Comite on hand currently. Maybe returning later WITH Comite would be a thing...? I mean, they'd have to follow the same path once business in Corsage are done, don't they...

There was another thing probably none expect Shiva realized: Those wild roses around, same with elderberries. Just as she was checking whether they are ripe (@Iron, are they? If so, I'll pick a handful of those.), she picked up that Azurill, while not interested in the Deyo Flowers, she was donewhat fascinated by those wild roses...

"Hey... Azu... You like these roses? Well, they're surely beautiful... How about we take a small twig of those with us to enjoy?"


(Also, if possible, I'd like to encounter and battle that Grimer. While it's damned Poison-Tpe, I have Fennekin and Azurill to hunt it down.)

[Lord Windos]

"In case you are not aware, Lucifer has stopped munching on the deyos, and has made frequent attempt to actually be friendly and welcoming to your Kirlia, despite the open hostility displayed towards them. Even if we allow the possibility that its still defensive about its Pearl being frisked, my little devil has made absolutely no attempt to do so, and in fact has made frequent apologies about such a misunderstanding. As it stands, I have every logical reason to be on edge around Kirlia, since they have the potential to do great harm upon my Niobat if it crosses their slightest fancy. Until it ceases such hostilities towards them, or you get a handle on their behavior, I'm not going to let my guard down around them. My family wellbeing is tantamount, so I hope you understand where I'm coming from on this matter," Ventus calmly replied as the young trainer was exploring the crator, nonplussed despite Nathan pointed remarks. If he's going to take his warnings the wrong way, then so bed it.

When Kirlia doubled down its death stare on him now, he just smiled at him. 'I'll do what it takes to protect my Lucifer, Kirlia. Keep that in mind, before you do anything rash,' he thought, his message towards it filled not with animosity, but Certainty. Focusing on what else Nathan said to him, he let a slight growl, not very happy he's being chastised yet again about those damn deyos.

"As for your assessment about those blast flowers, I have this to say: I will never trust them or hold a even neutral opinion towards them. The only reason I'm not obliterating these samples now is my promise towards you, and the fact I don't want to cause another rift between us over them. Let us be done talking about our opinion about those flowers, for now," he said, crossing his arms across his chest in resignation about the whole affair. Later on, when Nathan shut down his inquiry about last night, he just shook his head at them, and gave them an worried, expectant look. Despite his current stance towards Kirlia, he still cares deeply about the boy's mental stability, and he knows them well enough by now to know when they are trying to avoid an issue. "Nathan...we'll take about this later, in private. I know when you are trying to hide your feeling to me, but I'll back off for now. Just...don't shut me out, ok? Despite my own erratic nature, I will always be on your side, and never turn against you. Always."

Order: Going over to a sailor, and see what I can get for the Dragonair statue. After that, I want to see if I can't battle one of those sea dogs that are heading to or from Corsage; if not, a training session for Raphael, Ariel, and Michael is in order (Raphael and Ariel are going to try and learn their Rock moves, so Hard Stone bonus applies).

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Ventus, who was currently standing as far away from those blightening flowers as he could without losing sight of his friend, immedianlty noticed when Shiva snatch a couple of flowers and stored them away. He briskly closed the distance between him and the young lass, and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Shiva, it would for the best if you left the Deyo collection to Nathan, as he knows how to process them into a 'less' malicious form. He made swear not to raze these these Kuyrem damn flowers in Ginger Town, but that doesn't mean I distrust these deyos any less. Remember, they can still bewitch you and your Pokémon, so if you would..." Ventus said in a low, stern voice, looking her straight in the eyes while his other hand (Which was already gloved...somehow) was held out open to her. Even if he allow Nathan to collect those flowers against his better judgement, he does not want Shiva to start up that habit...

Damn... So it indeed was not the best idea to fall  into false confidence. His view on these flowers has not changed an inch (suprise), he just depicted it in a less agressive way. Instead of hot buring hatred, there was serene disgust and deep rejection.

Shiva was just about to object... She really was...
When she decided not to. She got weak and relucant of it because of that stern and low voice additionally with the gaze that was going directly through her ias she returned it. After all... He was still just wanting to protect her, right? Save her anything bad, right? Right...?

But... She didn't feel 'bewitched' or anything like that... Cottonee loved these flowers... However, Shiva guessed that Ven feared that the same thing that happened to his mother might happen to her if she gets involved into these flowers too much... No big wonder he wanted her to get rid of those...

Shiva stared back a moment, before she indeed drew both Deyo Flowers she picked from the crate and slapped them into his gloved hand. She was not outright angry... Nor sad or annoyed by his behaviour... However, she found it unfair that he let Nathan collect as many Deyo Flowers as he wanted. She could feel that he stil was not happy about it... But nevertheless, he let him alone. Why does she then...

She lowered her voice a little. But not too much, Nathan would still understand the words if he would decide to listen. "There you go. Do with 'em whatever you want... I wasn't planning to make pain killers" - was this really any 'less maliciious'? - out of these, just wanted to see why Cottonee was so fond of these elusive flowers... However... It shall not be so appearantly. You guys might need to explain to me why Nathan was allowed to pick these flowers and I'm not once you managed things with the court in Corsage."

" ... If not, I might feel like setting these flowers ablaze next time I spot them growing somewhere. They caused enough trouble among us already." An outsider might take these words as a threat - while actually it was not. Shiva just had enough of FLOWERS causing stress, fights and distances within their group.

She then waited for Ven to let go of her, so that she could go and pick up a few of the wild roses growing a little aside to pack into the crate and take with her. As well as take a closer look at these elderberry bush next to the roses. After all, Azurill might not be interested in the Deyo Flowers, but Shiva noticed that the blue mouse was giving the roses a fascinated look instead.