[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Awwww <3 As Volbeat heads off, Shiva waves him a thankful goodbye, it fills her with warm delight to see how many Illumise got interested in him now. Maybe one day she'll be able to register a loving couple of these bugs to two of her Pokeballs, but not today as they shall enjoy their freedom...

Nope, for now Shiva will be occupied with sonethingelse, as the more she resided at this ancient grove of trees, the more she grew fond of the idea of sleeping over here tonight! The only light now probably came from the Illumise+Volbeat+the moon (Shiva casted a searching gaze up to the sky to find this celestial body and to determine the current lunar phase), so she had to rely to the flashlight of cell additionally to the help of her own Pokemon to find a secure from people, weather and biting Pokenon to pile up more pine needles there for a fluffy natural mattress. A blanket she lacked, but a comfy black hoodie from backpack under the Ranger's cloak as well as leader-Furret gently curled up around her were just as good if not cozier. Tropius would hopefully have nothing against his Master leaning into him for the night, in fact, ALL of Shiva's current Pokemon will stay out during the night and are welcome to snuggle up to her, she herself will probably keep Nightshade closest to herself to protect her from hungry bird- or bug-Pokemon that'd otherwise might see this cherrylike Pokemon as a free breakfast.

Only when improvised camp was set and alarm clock for tomorrow was set, Shiva would eventually try to catch Gothy's attention (formerly, she left her alone to stare up the tree through the branches) via carefully nudging her. "Lilith... Well, I just wanted to say that we'll stay overnights here. Yes, right here by these ancient trees!~ I also want to watch the stars a little before turning in for the night." She gazes up to them again, casting a dreany expression and whispering tone of voice. "These trees.... They'really something special. My, if you wouldn't have wandered off from me, I may have not even...found 'em....." Back to facing Gothy now, as her voice grew a little more serious. "But.... Well, you shouldn't wander away from me like nothing, Lilith. Maybe you're not used to having a Trainer now, one that worries for you when leaving her presence unknowingly? That's fine though, eventually you will. Haha, or I'll just get better at retriving you. But....seriously, I trust in your capability to deal with issues like wild Pokemon attacking or such own, but still - therefore...wait a moment, I'll get it." After a bit of rumnaging in her stuff, she eventualky found what she was looking for -

"...that's a Soothe Bell, dear one. A small silvery bell giving out a calming and soft ringing - it's not pungent, my blue mouse had it with her for long and is doing very fine. I know the faint ringing well - so while it may calm you, I will be soft-alerted when you wander, ready to come helping you shall it be necessary. So... What do you say, do you accept this Bell in return for the runestone I gave you? I'll keep the stone very safe for you."

[Dragonstrike]

"Deltas are on the cutting edge of Pokemon research. So please, tell me everything you know about this Pokemon!" He pulls up a notepad program on his laptop.

"I'll do ya one better and show you.  I've got Orthros on my person right now.  Fair warning, he can be a little...disconcerting."

*Bark!*  Orthros sits next to Nathan, looking comfortable.

"...first off...as I said, they don't live in Creshire.  They live in the...Dream World.  I tried to use a Flash Ball to take a picture of what the environment looked like, but...well, it wasn't exactly designed to take pictures of dreams, to be blunt.  And they can travel between the Dream World and the waking world at will, it seems.  They eat all the same things that any other pokemon can, but they also seem to get some enjoyment out of...fear.  I think.  We encountered a whole pack of Delta Houndour while we were in Corsage Port...their leader was a Mega Delta Houndoom, though how she Mega Evolved without a trainer, I have no idea...she seemed to have created a nightmare that drew the entirety of the town in and made everyone uneasy and unable to rest properly...smaller groups of Delta Houndour were chasing people around, but never made any attempts to seriously harm anyone from what I saw...their leader seemed to be feeding off of the pure fear they were instilling in the populace...Orthros here has demonstrated to me that he can also take individuals with him to the Dream World, but I don't think he's yet strong enough to take more than maybe a few people at most...I doubt he could draw a whole town into a dream unless he were to Mega Evolve...after he's evolved, though...maybe he and I could search the Dream World for a Delta Houndoominite...I kinda doubt we'd find anything like that in the waking world, to be honest..."

...silence for a moment...

"...to be honest, I kinda think further research of this species as a whole probably has to be brought up to Fennel or Professor Burnet.  It's a species of pokemon that lives in the Dream World, an entirely separate dimension...and there were countless numbers of them.  Trading Orthros isn't an option, since he's liable to just disappear back to the Dream World if he has no reason to stay, but...I did catch a Ditto.  I could eventually breed a few Delta Houndour for their research. I'm still trying to get a practical understanding of what training them is like, though, so it might be awhile before I can do that."

[Iron]

Awwww <3 As Volbeat heads off, Shiva waves him a thankful goodbye, it fills her with warm delight to see how many Illumise got interested in him now. Maybe one day she'll be able to register a loving couple of these bugs to two of her Pokeballs, but not today as they shall enjoy their freedom...

Nope, for now Shiva will be occupied with sonethingelse, as the more she resided at this ancient grove of trees, the more she grew fond of the idea of sleeping over here tonight! The only light now probably came from the Illumise+Volbeat+the moon (Shiva casted a searching gaze up to the sky to find this celestial body and to determine the current lunar phase), so she had to rely to the flashlight of cell additionally to the help of her own Pokemon to find a secure from people, weather and biting Pokenon to pile up more pine needles there for a fluffy natural mattress. A blanket she lacked, but a comfy black hoodie from backpack under the Ranger's cloak as well as leader-Furret gently curled up around her were just as good if not cozier. Tropius would hopefully have nothing against his Master leaning into him for the night, in fact, ALL of Shiva's current Pokemon will stay out during the night and are welcome to snuggle up to her, she herself will probably keep Nightshade closest to herself to protect her from hungry bird- or bug-Pokemon that'd otherwise might see this cherrylike Pokemon as a free breakfast.

Only when improvised camp was set and alarm clock for tomorrow was set, Shiva would eventually try to catch Gothy's attention (formerly, she left her alone to stare up the tree through the branches) via carefully nudging her. "Lilith... Well, I just wanted to say that we'll stay overnights here. Yes, right here by these ancient trees!~ I also want to watch the stars a little before turning in for the night." She gazes up to them again, casting a dreany expression and whispering tone of voice. "These trees.... They'really something special. My, if you wouldn't have wandered off from me, I may have not even...found 'em....." Back to facing Gothy now, as her voice grew a little more serious. "But.... Well, you shouldn't wander away from me like nothing, Lilith. Maybe you're not used to having a Trainer now, one that worries for you when leaving her presence unknowingly? That's fine though, eventually you will. Haha, or I'll just get better at retriving you. But....seriously, I trust in your capability to deal with issues like wild Pokemon attacking or such own, but still - therefore...wait a moment, I'll get it." After a bit of rumnaging in her stuff, she eventualky found what she was looking for -

"...that's a Soothe Bell, dear one. A small silvery bell giving out a calming and soft ringing - it's not pungent, my blue mouse had it with her for long and is doing very fine. I know the faint ringing well - so while it may calm you, I will be soft-alerted when you wander, ready to come helping you shall it be necessary. So... What do you say, do you accept this Bell in return for the runestone I gave you? I'll keep the stone very safe for you."

Like most Pokemon, Lilith is intrigued by the soothing chime of the Bell. She takes it and hands over the runestone.

[Iron]

Mallorn doesn't shy away from this scientific oddity. He gets right up to it and starts poking it and petting it and prying its jaws open.

With his hand halfway in its mouth, he says "Is it obedient?"

"Hm. If you breed a puppy, I'd love to buy one off you. But I should warn you that Deltas don't always seem to breed true. I'm sure having a Ditto will help a lot. I've heard you can weave special Destiny Knots, too."

"I've never talked to Dr. Fennel, but I've read a few of her papers. Email is probably the best way for me to reach her. I'll give you her address next time I'm back at the lab. I know very little of Professor Burnet. I think she did a fluff piece on Celebi once? You know, I had never been certain the Dream World was a literal, real place. Oh, there's so many technological possibilities, if we could learn more about it!"

"Mega Pokemon. Oh, it's actually possible for them to evolve without a trainer. Results vary. Some struggle. Some stay in that form constantly. Some expend all their energy and wither away. Mega Stones have always existed, but we know that only in the League-era have they been paired up with the Bracelets successfully. That sort of chemical reaction must be possible in the wild, and it is possible to replicate in the laboratory, but there's no doubt that there's something special about the trainers who wield the power of Mega Evolution. I mean, it's just so much more reliable than lab experiments or the rare wild occurrences. You can measure that psychic energy and observe that it's a real thing. It's not just some 'power of love' nonsense."

"In relation to what I was telling Shiva, the Megas I've studied so far are not throwbacks. They're more random in appearance, just a wild surge of evolutionary energy. I've studied Mega Venusaur, Mega Ampharos, Mega Blaziken, Mega Beedrill, Mega Pidgeot, Mega Slowbro, Mega Swampert, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Metagross. Of all those species, I was able to prove that they did not fit into the fossil record. However, it did make their strength a lot closer to that of their ancestors, who usually had more robust physiology."

[Iron]

Vullaby Round 1 Cont

Dual Chop 2 & 3
(4)(6)
(2)
(4)(2)(6)(5) With Dragon Dance completed, Koa has no trouble catching up to Vullaby and clonking it on the head. It passes out.
He misses the Starly, though.

Spark 3
(2)(1)(4)
(5)(1)(6)(1) Starly A takes 2 dmg 3/5hp -1 pain
prlz: (5)(1)(6) Starly A is paralyzed

Spark 4
(5)(1)
(3)(3)(6)(4) Starly A faints.

Slash 4 - only Dragon Dance gives it enough dice.
(5)
(6)(6)(2)(3)(5) Starly B takes 3 dmg 2/5hp -2 pain.

Vullaby Round 2
What kind of Pokeball will you be using on Vullaby and on Starly? Do you want to try to capture (and cease attacking) the pained Starly (they have low Will to resist) or try to capture a fainted one?

[Dragonstrike]

"If he wasn't, he'd be in his pokeball since having out a disobedient pokemon that most everyone is afraid of just simply because it exists isn't a good thing.  Took two weeks for him to finally be completely comfortable with being around me.  You can pet him if ya like.  He's actually very friendly."

"I'll keep that in mind.  But something else to keep in mind is Delta Houndour seem to be far, far more loyal to their pack and friends than a normal Houndour.  I'm amazed I managed to convince Orthros to come with me, really..."

"Professor Burnet currently lives in Alola last I heard.  She specializes in researching alternate dimensions and has papers on pokemon like Bronzong, Slowpoke, and the Creation Trio.  Maybe she did one on Celebi too at some point...Professor Kukui, the move specialist, is her husband.  She's actually from Unova originally, if I remember correctly.  I believe she worked with Fennel on some Dream World research.  Something about viewing dreams in the waking world with some kind of device...?  The research kinda went over my head, to be honest...it was really technical...anyways...Fennel might know how to contact her."

"Hmmm...well, I definitely think that Delta Houndoom's mega stone, and the mega evolution associated with it, was the main cause for the nightmare plaguing Corsage.  When we engaged Delta Houndoom...she looked ready to crush the stone if she had to.  We KOed her before she did...but then she threw it as far away from the battle as she could...and the nightmare was dispelled before I could try and grab it...any items I'd used in the Dream World were consumed when I woke...Orthros was in the Flash Ball, and the picture it had taken was of perfect darkness despite the flash...but strangely, my pokemon weren't as damaged as I had expected them to be...they'd only suffered minor injuries...but they barely looked damaged at all when I woke.  Probably all stuff Fennel and Burnet would also be interested in hearing."

"...what about Mega Aerodactyl?  The theory that it's reverting to a more primal state is a common one for it specifically, right?"

[Iron]

"...what about Mega Aerodactyl?  The theory that it's reverting to a more primal state is a common one for it specifically, right?"

"You'd have to ask Professor Laurelin about that. But fossil Pokemon are far from common and I haven't been able to study one. It takes a really perfect fossil specimen and some pretty impressive technology to bring them back. We do think, generally, their original appearances were vastly different. Some may not even have been Rock type in the past. Oh, I know you are interested in history - Aerodactyl bones can be found within the Skull Ruins. The King considered them an analogue to Charizard."

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Vullaby Round 1 Cont

Dual Chop 2 & 3
(4)(6)
(2)
(4)(2)(6)(5) With Dragon Dance completed, Koa has no trouble catching up to Vullaby and clonking it on the head. It passes out.
He misses the Starly, though.

Spark 3
(2)(1)(4)
(5)(1)(6)(1) Starly A takes 2 dmg 3/5hp -1 pain
prlz: (5)(1)(6) Starly A is paralyzed

Spark 4
(5)(1)
(3)(3)(6)(4) Starly A faints.

Slash 4 - only Dragon Dance gives it enough dice.
(5)
(6)(6)(2)(3)(5) Starly B takes 3 dmg 2/5hp -2 pain.

Vullaby Round 2
What kind of Pokeball will you be using on Vullaby and on Starly? Do you want to try to capture (and cease attacking) the pained Starly (they have low Will to resist) or try to capture a fainted one?

(Two pokeball each one. The simple one)

[Dragonstrike]

"You'd have to ask Professor Laurelin about that. But fossil Pokemon are far from common and I haven't been able to study one. It takes a really perfect fossil specimen and some pretty impressive technology to bring them back. We do think, generally, their original appearances were vastly different. Some may not even have been Rock type in the past. Oh, I know you are interested in history - Aerodactyl bones can be found within the Skull Ruins. The King considered them an analogue to Charizard."

"I'll plan on paying her a visit tomorrow, then. If you get in contact with Larry again, you should probably tell him about Prof. Laurelin. That Omanyte we left with him is...kinda strange. Not a Delta or anything, but it's still really weird..."

"...well, I assume you probably want to take a look at my Pokedex before I head out again?"

[Iron]

Vullaby Round 2

Heart tosses a Pokeball at Vullaby.
Seals: (5)(3)
Will: (3) Got it first try! Vullaby was caught.

Spark 1
(6)(6)(6)(6)(2)
(5)(6)(1)(6) Starly B faints.

Dual Chop 1&2
9 dice, -2 pain, -1 acc -3/4 actions
(5)(2)(1)
(2)(6)
(3)(3)(6)(5)(3)
(4)(2)(4)(2)(5) Starly C faints, leaving just one Starly. It flees.

Vullaby Round 3

Pokeball on Starly! (3)(3) vs (2). Starly escapes, but the ball doesn't break.
(3)(4) vs (2). That time it catches Starly. So you used only two Pokeballs total.

Vullaby
Big Pecks
0 happiness or loyalty
1 Disobedience
Gust, Leer, Fury Attack, Pluck, Nasty Plot, Feint Attack

Starly
Keen Eye
0 happiness or loyalty
0 disobedience
Growl, Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Fury Attack (unusual move). 

Heart's Pokemon gain 7Xp, and he gains 3.