[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

(...)
Everything seems to be going fine for awhile, though.

...until Nathan, Kirlia, and Swiftfire practically walk into a Gulpin and a Swalot in the midst of their inattentiveness.  Masq is overhead, acting as Nathan's eyes in the sky (and leaving a trail of sparkles as he flies), but his warning squawk comes just a tad too late for Nathan and his grounded pokemon...

*Slight Flashback to last night, before onwards!*

Quetzoral, now christen Lilith by her new trainer, tilted her head at him and though over the name and its significance for a moment...before her expression changed into one of ^ o ^  as she clapped her hands together to signal her approval. A fitting name for a cunning and mighty Dragon to be, in her opinion, and her name being synonomous to a god-like beings is just a Honey sweet idea to her!

Ventus gave her a beaming smile in response and a scratch on their head, pleased that his bequeathing got such a positive reception, before saying to her: "Lilith it is then, my sister. From this day forth, you are a part of my family, and I will do my utmost to protect and provide for your needs, no matter the circumstance. One day, I'll even help you achieve the zenith of your power and become The Legend of Bakyai itself, and show the world that your power and dominance is no myth indeed! Come, let's set together, and I'll introduce you to rest of your new family at dinner time, and my own talents when it comes to preparing meals!"

With that said, Ventus registered Lilith to the last Pokeball he had avaliabe on his person, and sent his newly caught Drilbur to the PC to free up room for her in his team, before proceed to make preparations for camp/camp safety. There would be time enough to discipline/get to know that unruly mole that Shiva skillfully KOed, but for now he wants to get to know the increadibly rare Pokémon he recently caught! Oh, the research opportunities this little serpent bird has opened up....!

*End of Slight Flashback!*

In a strange and unfortunate case of serendipidy, Ventus' morning was not entirely pleasant either, even with his recent addition of an invaluable addition of Lilith on his team (And all the interesting research possibilities opened up because of her!) still buzzing at the back of his mind and disregarding the mugged hell the swamp had turned into as they forged on through it. See, while making dinner for his Pokémon and checking over the injuries of Lucifer to make sure his wounds were not festering from residual Poison/Swamp filth (They weren't, thank Reshirim!) before returning him to their Pokeball, he had been pondering his last conversation with Nathan, and realized a few unpleasant things.

''The boy, to be blunt, is on the absolute verge of a total mental breakdown, or catastrophically spiriling into Apathy once more. His stress and anxiety levels would have already begun to cause heart problem to someone around my age, their sense of soul crushing responsible hangs heavily throughout his feelings, and a distinct lack of energy in his action belay even more serious issues, such as a lack of sleep or improper care of oneself. *Sigh*....It also appears that he and Kirlia have taken a fearful and distrusting viewpoint of me and my Pokémon, if their avoidance and critisim is any indicator. Normally I wouldn't bothering caring about the stubborn child or the trouble he bring upon himself, but the fact is that he's a vital member of our group, and that if we are going to have a chance of saving Cheshire from those blasted Vines we need him in top condition and coordinating with everyone. *Sighs* .....I suppose that means I will have to go have a talk with them to sorts this out, haven't I? *Sighs* Remember, its for the good of the group....'

After his deliberations and coming to the reluctant conclusion that he has to play therapist to Nathan, he broke off from the main group to follow after their trail, hoping to catch up with them and corner them for a much needed 'heart to heart'.

That plan was completely derailed, however, when he round a patch of Tall Grass and run smack dab into a Gulpin and Swalot duo, and by the angry looks both sacks of poison were giving the young trainer, this was not going to be a problem that could be solved by diplomacy! Without a hint of hesitation or resentment, Ventus rushed forward to join Nathan side, flicking his wrist to summon Abaddon at the same time and barking out to them: "Abaddon, raise a Safeguard for all of us now, then Charm both creatures to debilitate them, and guard Kirlia until they get their bearings! Stand tall, my child!!!"

Order: Rescue Nathan while summoning Abaddon at the same time, and have the Blue Demon's first move be Safeguard, followed by Charm on both Gulpin and Swallot. He's also going to intercept any Poison type move that comes Kirlia's way first for the first round to give them the chance to buff themselves/get their bearings. Their (Poison Duo) threat level needs to be reduced immediantly, so debuffing and Status protect be employed!

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan and Kirlia are startled not just by the 3rd round of poison pokemon in 3 days, but also by Ventus's sudden appearance!

Kirlia ends up Teleporting off of Swiftfire when she bucks in surprise to avoid getting thrown off.  Nathan keeps ahold, but he's too surprised to really give Kirlia any orders...

So Kirlia does the instinctual thing and uses Double Team to misdirect his foes, centers himself with Calm Mind while they're distracted, then strikes back with a Confusion!

9 dice base in all 3 accuracy pools again.  Double Team gives Evasion +2.  Calm Mind, +1 Strength and Defense.  Confusion will have 8 dice base +1 SE damage in its damage pool (if Calm Mind is successful), and 1 chance die for Confusion status.

[Nylon]

Theo would actually love to take on that Hypno.


 Theo will spam Night slash while holding back on lethality. He will try to use it twice on turn 1.

  Night Slash- Pwr: 8.
                     Acc: 5.
Increased crit chance!

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Nice. It seems like Shiva belonged to the few people of the group, if not the only person of the group, who was able to get some relatively fine rest this night. As fine as possible in a tent somewhere in a swamp, far away from civilization... The more she thought about it, the more certain she grew that Arrowroot Village will be quite a culture shock for her. On the other hand, she WAS interested in these Mamo, and being surrounded by nature had an elusive charm on its own, especially if coming straight from impressive Stair City.

She was the last one to wake up though, and was greatly irritated by both these...footprints that looked like they'd belong to small Grass Types being led by a bigger one as well as this haze... Yesterday, the weather was way better... Was this an indicator that they were close to reach the village? She was hoping so... Braixen welcomed his Master with his basswood stick already drawn and enlighted - which eased the haze a bit in the immediate surrounding enough for Shiva to at least SEE SOMETHING - and radiating pride. This earned him Master's hearty praise and pets for sure! "Seems like you fulfilled my plea of being a night guard brilliantly. Wouldn't have had restful sleep if it wouldn't be you... Thank you, dear one! I need and gladly will rely on you furthermore - please stay close to me and keep your wand enlighted until we passed the depths of this swamp and the haze, alright?"

After breakfast and feeding her own Pokemon - in a way more straightforward way than usually this time - Shiva spend a few minutes brushing out the most mud from her Ranger's cloak while the others dismantled the tent. Looks like she'll keep wearing it, and she thanked Reshiram for the sensation that not too much moisture reaches her clothes under cloak despite the cloak being drenche. The hood was pretty comfortable as well when put on. There was another sensation as well - a WAY less pleasant one: Nathan was setting himself aside from the others. He didn't seem to care. Kirlia seemingly didn't either, but he threw glances over glances over the others, and especially to a familar and dear oddball of researcher... Now, Shiva was SURE that something must have happened again. Actually, it didn't take her long to assume what it possibly was. Out of curiosity and slight worry, she concentrating her developing senses for a shy and careful moment on Ven himself while hoping he wouldn't mind if he'd notice, he seemed overly fine to her. Along with a big amount of loathing for doing something she couldn't figure out. Sighing imprecible, she struggled but stood adamant about the decision to leave them handle things on themselves this time. If anything, she would be there to to provide some sort of damage-control to Nathan - if he'd allow and appreciate, that is.


Turned out Braixen felt like a valuable companion for Shiva for another reason, as she'd feel WAY MORE scared and worried about loosing track of the others if he wouldn't illuminate the nearsest surroundings. Therefor, she managed to stop as well when Heart in front of her stopped instead of running into him head-first.

Heart fight to get though the haze. After a lot of time Heart meet a Whiscash blocking the way! He decides to bring his tree Pokemon Viktor to clear the path. Heart look Shiva and asks. "Shiva, would you mind if I join with you in this battle?"

According to the sudden flash of light, he just called out a Pokemon, didn't he? Her startle became real as the words of a BATTLE, right here, reached her, causing her to step closer to seek comfort in her magical fox. Comfort that he gladly provided, and just in case he already snarled maliciously at any yet invisible threat.

"BATTLE?! Which battle...? I don't see anything to battle..."


-----------------
Mechanics:
Awaiting Initiatives first! As soon as Wishcash has shown itself to Shiva, Yena will be send out. Let's see whether he can't handle this catfish on himself alongside a Ghost Type (that he should actually ward off) before we pull out Double-SE-Grass STAB from Nightshade.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

+Some sort of flashback to the evening of Day33+
@Lord Windos


Shiva returned to the camp in an exhausted, yet delightful state over the fact that she managed to obtain her real own Eeveelution, as well as her Ranger's cloak still decorated in stains of mud at the seams and splashes of water here and there.

The first thing she noticed when approaching was that Nathan was...not present...probably already in tent? The next thing was, very delightful to know, that she hadn't missed dinner yet! The third one was... Is that Pokemon ? She didn't recognize the species if it was... MUST SEE!

She stood around 1 metre apart from this new Pokemon, but kneed down to be on somewhat eye level with it. "What a pretty one this creature is!! It looks like a Grass Type...! Want some sweet-tasting dried berries? *careful offering it a handful of them* Is it another one from this region called 'Tandor'? It also looks a bit like a dragon... Now, who of you sweethearts does this Pokemon belong to?"

[Dragonstrike]

(Actually, considering we're doing some mandatory wild pokemon battles, and two of them are comparatively more difficult than the others, how about we add in some music?)

Large Swamp Pokemon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3GsM4I2iuo

[Iron]

Kirlia: (2) + 7 = 9
Abaddon: (4) + 2 + 3 = 9
Swalot: (4) + 5 = 9
Gulpin: (3) + 1 dex + 4 survival = 8

Swalot Round 1

Kirlia traces Liquid Ooze. You think it's from Swalot but you aren't 100% sure.

Double Team 1
(4)(2)(6)(5)(4)(1)
Kirlia's evasion increases +2 as the lonesome swamp fills with Kirlia.

Safeguard 1
8 dice, -3 actions
(5)(4)(2)(4)(1)
An energy shield drops into place.

Abaddon starts jumping up and down in front of Kirlia, arms upraised, shouting in his own little language, like a basketball player trying to intercept a shot. But to his surprise, Swalot just comes barreling in at Kirlia with a full body tackle. While Abaddon was playing basketball, Swalot was playing pro wrestling. The blue demon is swept aside.

Body Slam 1
1 Dex + 4 Fight + 2 brawl -3 actions = 4d6
(4)(4)(2)(3)
3 Str +3 power -3 vit = 3d6
(3)(3)(5) Kirlia takes 1 dmg
Paralyze: (4)(3)(3) The ground where Kirlia lands is too soft.

Yawn 1
1 Dex + 3 Fight +3 canalize -3 actions = 4d6
(1)(4)(4)(5)
Through their telepathy, Kirlia prods Abaddon, doing his best to keep his sudden ally awake. Ventus can actually feel the faintest impression of this prod, when his senses are open. It feels like a single drop of black coffee.
In conjunction with Safeguard, this is a very effective strategy!
Especially since my movepool is filled with status effects lol.

Calm Mind 2
(3)(4)(1)(1)(5)
+1 Str +1 def
Kirlia thinks back on Flai Chi with Toxicroak. And maybe the spirit of Mutios helps a little too, who knows?

Charm 2
2 Dex + 3 fight +2 allure -4 actions =3d6
(6)(2)(6)
-2 Str for Gulpin

Acid Spray 2 - the lance of acid is aimed for Kirlia, but Abbadon is already moving to intercept it. He's about the same size as Kirlia, so he can get almost all of it. (Full body cover, 3 dice transferred to Abaddon)
(1)(2)(3) Or, no one could take damage.
Abaddon splashes with his four feet and knocks most of the spray away. With Telepathy, he can know which is the real Kirlia! (If Kirlia's his ally, that is)

Poison Gas 2
7 dice, -4 actions, -1 acc =2d6
(5)(1)
The poison gas flows against the energy shield and fades!

Confusion 3
(6)(2)(4)(2)
8 dice, -5 vit =3d6+1
(4)(4)(1) Swalot takes 3 dmg (assuming Kirlia instinctually goes for the bigger threat). 7/10hp -1 pain
Conf: (3)

Charm 3
(6)(1)
-2 Str has been spread to all enemies!

Stockpile 3
1 dex + 4 fight +3 canalize -5 actions -1 pain = 2d6
(3)(6)
Swalot absorbs swampwater and swells to a massive size!
+1 Def

Seeing its mentor do this, Gulpin tries it too!

Stockpile 3
(5)(3)
+1 def

Kirlia: 6/7hp 0 pain +1 def +1 str +1 evasion. Safeguard.
Abaddon: Full health. Safeguard.
Swalot 7/10hp stockpile 1 +1 def -2 Str
Gulpin full health stockpile 1 +1 def -2 Str

Kirlia's was sure tired of being poisoned every day! Maybe today he can go without?

[Iron]

Initiatives:

Whiscash: (6)+ 2 Dex + 4 survival = 12
Viktor: (5) + 3dex +1 survival = 9
Yena: (3) + 5 = 8

The huge flat fish Heart saw with his high Alert comes wallowing up out of the water! It's like a moving island unto itself!

[Spiritmon]

"Finally! Some good action! Okay Viktor! Focus in avoid Whiscash first attack! Then use counter attack with Leech Seed! After that use Confuse Ray!"

[Iron]

Hypno: (3) + 3 Dex + 3 survival = 9
Theo: (4) + 6 = 10

Valder might consider leveling up his Specialties! They're cheap. If you're saving up for something else that's cool too.

Swampno Round 1

Night Slash
(5)(4)(4)
8 dice -3 vit = 5d6+1
(3)(2)(5)(4)(3) Hypno takes 3 dmg 5/8hp -1 pain

Hypno gestures, and the mists swirl in a hypnotic pattern...Theo narrows his eyes as narrow as they'll go...
Hypnosis
3 Dex + 2 Fight + 4 Allure -2 actions -4 acc -1 pain= 2d6
(2)(2)

Night Slash
(4)(3)
(5)(5)(6)(6)(5) No crit necessary! Hypno faints.

Theo gains 3Xp. Valder gains 3XP.