[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

"Hm?  Oh, Ventus.  Yeah, it's an Ice type TM.  Found it in Mt. Sentry...quite the rare one...Icy Wind...normally, they only make these in Johto...unfortunately, that means their compatibility is usually only suited for pokemon from the Tohjo area or those that learn the move naturally...would have taught it to Forthright, but the machine doesn't know what to do with it...could teach it to Solomon or Starmie, though..."

Nathan stops muttering to himself.  Wait, did he hear that correctly?

Nathan sets the TM down and looks at Ventus.  "Hang on.  Hold up.  What do you even have that might be able to use it?  I highly doubt Ao Guang needs it, considering he's not going to be bothered at all by the types it's good against."

Just then, Nathan feels a cold chill down his spine. He turns around to spot a Misdreavus phasing through the wall, sneaking up on him! Behind him, Ventus is chuckling. 

Misdreavus' Stealth: (1)(5)(3)(2)(3)(5)
Nathan's Alert: (6)(4)(6)(5)(3)(1) -1 for not paying attention

[Dragonstrike]

Just then, Nathan feels a cold chill down his spine. He turns around to spot a Misdreavus phasing through the wall, sneaking up on him! Behind him, Ventus is chuckling. 

Misdreavus' Stealth: (1)(5)(3)(2)(3)(5)
Nathan's Alert: (6)(4)(6)(5)(3)(1) -1 for not paying attention

Nathan turns around just in time to avoid getting ambushed.  Somehow.  Maybe it was Ralts starting to shiver much more intensely than Nathan was and looking ready to fire off a Confusion in self defense that tipped him off.

Nathan engages in what amounts to a staring contest with Misdreavus for a few moments.  She's probably surprised she got caught in the act by an inattentive target, and he's surprised that there's a Misdreavus of all things here...

"What...hang on...wait...that's a...but where did you...did you go to..."

Suddenly, Nathan turns around again and grabs Ventus by the shoulders, a sudden seriousness in his eyes and tone.

"PLEASE tell me you didn't go to the Skull Ruins.  That place is bad news.  BAD news.  We shouldn't even be going near it right now.  Stronger trainers than us have entered it and never been seen again."

[Iron]

It's a book of children's fables.

Page 33 is a story about the Red Chain's history in Creshire. Once all the gems were formed into a chain, Palkia was tracked down and the chain was placed around him. The villain cackled madly, but Palkia completely ignored the chain and ran him down.

The forming of the chain, however, had summoned all three Lake Spirits, one by one as the links were formed. The villain could not command them when they appeared; only catch their attention with the three parts of the Red Chain. Together, they turned the villain's lethally wounded body into stone, depriving it of willpower, emotion, and awareness for all time. They left it on the Great Divide as a monument not to believe foreign stories.

------------

Page 56 is about Long Grass growing on a meteor crash site. Ralts is even more excited about this page, as you start to read it. This little girl is trying to adventure through the Long Grass, but she keeps being repelled by Clefairy who maze her. Finally, she winds up in the Skull Ruins by accident, where she is assaulted by ghosts and slimy things, until she wanders into one of the crypts. But there she finds a magic helmet, gleaming the same silvery illusory color as meteor stone. With this, she is able to ignore the charms of the Clefairy and finds the magic sword she originally sought within the Long Grass.

This story doesn't seem super relevant to Nathan right now, and Ralts looks a tiny bit disappointed that it didn't turn out how he expected, but he still seems to think it's an important clue somehow.

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Spoiler

Oh. Damnit, maybe it wasn't the best idea to bring shortly-hatched Spritzee out against a Steel type, as when she visibly flinched from taking that Iron Head, Shiva felt...to put it bluntly, dishearted. Occassional sparks hinted on a Paralysis, which only added to that, so rather swiftly after that second Iron Head Shiva called out for her Fairy and let it land on her held open bare hand, only to fondly nuzzle it a moment later in apology.

Just when she wanted to say something to her, her attention was brought to somethingelse - whit.... nope, SILVER light that can only hint to one thing - evolution. Evolution, happening after the battle she has given Heart!

Spritzee was pained, paralyzed and probably somewhat afraid of that Lairon however, so Shiva gave held it very close to her showing that she's present and will defend her smol hatchling, before eventually recalling her to bring her to a Nurse Joy and the precious Healing Machines as soon as even possible.

For his victory and the evolution of Perceval, Heart received a coy smile and a pat on the shoulder, expressing that he did a fine job and gave her a battle she'll keep in positive terms. C:


EDIT: She also accepts that steely skin thing, though she has no idea what to do with it. Keep it as a reminder/charm simliar like that Dragon Scale, probably!

Heart smile back to Shiva and give a weak punch on her shoulder. "So...lets go to the pokemon center. Our pokemon need some healing threatment. And there some things I need to take care." Then Heart join Shiva in the way to the pokemon Center.

Time foward to settle in the current time!

After the pokemon battle, Heart tell to Shiva he gonna see a jewel shopp keeper to see if the garnet he found in Mt. Sentry is ready. He tell her he find the garnet on the way to Mt. Sentry but it have some bites of Sabbleye around her. The old man say it would took two days to finish it, so he gonna see how the job is going. And he say he gonna join her in the Ceremony after he see about the garnet thing. He wave his hand and thank again for the battle.

Mechanic: Go to the jewel man see how the job of the garnet is going!

Seeing the guy didnt finish yet about the garnet, Heart decided to leave his pokemon in the pokemon center to let them heal. He join with Shiva in the ceremony about time to see Shiva battle. Heart didnt hold himself and cheer for her. "Go ahead Shiva! You rock girl! Wohoo!" Say Heart cheer up the fairy girl.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

The evening Kimono Girl ceremony does indeed feature Umbreon! You've never seen this kind of grace from Specter.

Umbreon has a specially constructed arena of platforms or catwalks to perform her final dance on. There's barely any light - just a small glowing gem on each dancer's forehead, and the light of Umbreon's rings, and the last fading light of the sun.

Shiva and Heart are the only ones who want to battle today. Evens = Shivans, Odds = Hearts.

(6) Shiva gets the honor of battle here. She introduces magician Azumarill to the crowd.

Which flower will it be? (6) Glaceon! In the half light, Glaceon trots out. There are pillars and shadows to contend with on this battlefield. Also, starting with Round 4, all Pokemon will receive -1 accuracy due to the darkness. If it somehow gets to Round 8, that'll be -2 accuracy.

Remember that it's just 1 action per round, and you can carve off Performance dice from your Accuracy.

Azumarill: (1)
Glaceon: (5)

*Spectral. Though it was indeed as Shiva silently believed and even HOPED, the Evening Ceremony did feature precious Umbreon! How majestic it looked with its pitchblack fur decorated in yellow rings, from the first time it layed a silent paw onto one of the catwalks on 'stage', she was simultaneously emotionally touched due to being reminded of home and intrigued by the grace this exemplar displayed. How was it capable of such swift movements? How was it emitting such a grace with every step it took? It must be trained from the very start to be such a skilled dancer, it can't be otherwise, the respect and appreciation of Shiva towards these Kimonogirls increased by a nice level. The few attempts to teach her dark Eeveelution some steps turned out not very fruitful, guess hers was either lazy or way too playful. Maybe both.

The more she watched that Umbreon's performance with Azumarill comfortably in her lap and arms enwrapped around her, the more she failed to prevent her eyes from becoming wet, and by the end of the show Shiva had take off her glasses for a little to actually wipe her eyes from tears of movement, earning a slightly concerned look from her fae rabbit before she understood that Master's alright and not sad, she nevertheless hugged back.

Due to having to catch herself at first, it came somewhat suddenly that HER NAME was drawn from the flowerly basket (or what they use during the Evening Ceremonys), but rather quickly the embarrasment and suprise faded into JOY! Huuuh, fortuna must be benelovent tonight. The stars as well, as drawn from the basket was a light-blue flower, resembling the same species of Pokemon she already saw in Zamboni's Gym: A Glaceon!~ Though this exemplar gave her a very different feeling than his exemplar did, as battling in a Gym and contestlike on stage was wastly different. Azumarill took her place, wagged her tail eagerly and waited for orders or a signal from her Master to BEGIN. Azu already knows what to do, as Shiva has discussed this with the fae rabbit beforehand.

[Dragonstrike]

It's a book of children's fables.

Page 33 is a story about the Red Chain's history in Creshire. Once all the gems were formed into a chain, Palkia was tracked down and the chain was placed around him. The villain cackled madly, but Palkia completely ignored the chain and ran him down.

The forming of the chain, however, had summoned all three Lake Spirits, one by one as the links were formed. The villain could not command them when they appeared; only catch their attention with the three parts of the Red Chain. Together, they turned the villain's lethally wounded body into stone, depriving it of willpower, emotion, and awareness for all time. They left it on the Great Divide as a monument not to believe foreign stories.

------------

Page 56 is about Long Grass growing on a meteor crash site. Ralts is even more excited about this page, as you start to read it. This little girl is trying to adventure through the Long Grass, but she keeps being repelled by Clefairy who maze her. Finally, she winds up in the Skull Ruins by accident, where she is assaulted by ghosts and slimy things, until she wanders into one of the crypts. But there she finds a magic helmet, gleaming the same silvery illusory color as meteor stone. With this, she is able to ignore the charms of the Clefairy and finds the magic sword she originally sought within the Long Grass.

This story doesn't seem super relevant to Nathan right now, and Ralts looks a tiny bit disappointed that it didn't turn out how he expected, but he still seems to think it's an important clue somehow.

Hmmm...this is interesting.  He knows a Red Chain can be made from the gems of the Lake Trio in theory...wait a sec...

...this sounds important.  And that second story...maybe there's something to it as well...he can't be certain, though...

"Ralts, this looks like a great find.  It definitely has some interesting stuff in it, and maybe everyone will be able to get some enjoyment out of this book's stories."

So, how much is it to buy this book?

[Iron]

It's a book of children's fables.

Page 33 is a story about the Red Chain's history in Creshire. Once all the gems were formed into a chain, Palkia was tracked down and the chain was placed around him. The villain cackled madly, but Palkia completely ignored the chain and ran him down.

The forming of the chain, however, had summoned all three Lake Spirits, one by one as the links were formed. The villain could not command them when they appeared; only catch their attention with the three parts of the Red Chain. Together, they turned the villain's lethally wounded body into stone, depriving it of willpower, emotion, and awareness for all time. They left it on the Great Divide as a monument not to believe foreign stories.

------------

Page 56 is about Long Grass growing on a meteor crash site. Ralts is even more excited about this page, as you start to read it. This little girl is trying to adventure through the Long Grass, but she keeps being repelled by Clefairy who maze her. Finally, she winds up in the Skull Ruins by accident, where she is assaulted by ghosts and slimy things, until she wanders into one of the crypts. But there she finds a magic helmet, gleaming the same silvery illusory color as meteor stone. With this, she is able to ignore the charms of the Clefairy and finds the magic sword she originally sought within the Long Grass.

This story doesn't seem super relevant to Nathan right now, and Ralts looks a tiny bit disappointed that it didn't turn out how he expected, but he still seems to think it's an important clue somehow.

Hmmm...this is interesting.  He knows a Red Chain can be made from the gems of the Lake Trio in theory...wait a sec...

...this sounds important.  And that second story...maybe there's something to it as well...he can't be certain, though...

"Ralts, this looks like a great find.  It definitely has some interesting stuff in it, and maybe everyone will be able to get some enjoyment out of this book's stories."

So, how much is it to buy this book?

"That? It's just kid stories. $100."

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Nathan turns around just in time to avoid getting ambushed.  Somehow.  Maybe it was Ralts starting to shiver much more intensely than Nathan was and looking ready to fire off a Confusion in self defense that tipped him off.

Nathan engages in what amounts to a staring contest with Misdreavus for a few moments.  She's probably surprised she got caught in the act by an inattentive target, and he's surprised that there's a Misdreavus of all things here...

"What...hang on...wait...that's a...but where did you...did you go to..."

Suddenly, Nathan turns around again and grabs Ventus by the shoulders, a sudden seriousness in his eyes and tone.

"PLEASE tell me you didn't go to the Skull Ruins.  That place is bad news.  BAD news.  We shouldn't even be going near it right now.  Stronger trainers than us have entered it and never been seen again."

While a little disappointed that his sister didn't quite pull off a successful ambush, it didn't dampen his humor one bit to see Nathan abruptly swivel around and just stare at them. The boy assumption was indeed spot on, as Melphena was taken off guard about being caught in the act.....until she floated ever closer , almost pressing against his face, let out a low *Eeeeeeeee* ......

.....And then suddenly giggled and smiled mischeviously at him, before hovering up 'n over him and right to her master and gave them a close eyed wide smile and a much more chipper *Eeee!* She may have failed in her goal to spook the little boy, but it was still funny seeing him gap at her! Maybe next time she'll make a tasty meal and elicit some REAL fear out of him, tehe!

Ventus was about to let out another fond chuckle and (if permitted) fondly tussle her hair for their antics and properly introduce her to the young scholar, but them suddenly grappling on them, jerking him forward, and started to grill into him over his (admitidly true) suspicions. The empath didn't have a chance to react at all, and was left momentarily stunned from this unexpected rough treatment!

"Bwah?!"

Little Miss, while also being taken off guard by the boy's mood swing, recovered almost immediately and rapidly interposed herself between him and their weird master, this time actually getting right up in his face and giving him her best pseudo mean lock she could conjure up, letting out a angry high pitched *Eeeeeeeeee!* to accompany it that convey the basic notion :'Hey, knock it off!' She and her former trainer had enough manhandling for one day, and she wasn't about to let her new trainer being subjected to it too! If he didn't let go soon, she'll give him a REAL reason to get all work up...!

[Iron]

Kimono Girl vs Shiva Round 1

Glaceon gaily trips over to the bottom of some of Umbreon's stairs. As she stares at them, different levels and routes of the staging begin to send out tendrils of blue, which meet up and form interlacing psychic stairways and barriers. Glaceon goes waltzing up them, using them as both psychic and physical cover, and as a path for her own dance that echoes Umbreon's.

Barrier
9 dice - 6 perform = 3d6
(2)(2)(6) and (3)(4)(3)(5)(6)(1) +4 = 7 perform
Glaceon is surrounded by a Barrier that will repel mostly melee attacks.


Azumarill has her own plans, and begins a slow dance with steps that develop over time, ignoring Glaceon for now. Soon Shiva is drawn into the beautiful dance, hardly knowing what mystic process is overtaking her, and she and her Pokemon hold each other tightly as rain begins to pour down from the blue sky and run down their face. Seconds before the rain hits, a fleet of doves comes pouring from Shiva's sleeves, winging into the darkening sky.
Rain Dance
(2)(3)(1)(6)(2), (6)(6) +2 = 4 perform

Heart, watching, can tell that Shiva has never seen her rabbit Pokemon perform this gentle move. Every drop that hits Glaceon turns into tinkling ice, and somehow it is in time to the slow music of the Glaceon dance.

[Dragonstrike]

"That? It's just kid stories. $100."

"Done deal."

Ralts gets to hold on to the book for now.

"You'd be surprised how valuable even a cheap book can be.  And I'm not just talking about monetary value.  Thank you very much, sir."

Well, I suppose that wraps up the window shopping for now.  Back to the future!  Or is it the present now?  It's been kinda hard to keep track, tbh...almost done with the day, though!  Just gotta wrap up one more thing...

Spoiler

While a little disappointed that his sister didn't quite pull off a successful ambush, it didn't dampen his humor one bit to see Nathan abruptly swivel around and just stare at them. The boy assumption was indeed spot on, as Melphena was taken off guard about being caught in the act.....until she floated ever closer , almost pressing against his face, let out a low *Eeeeeeeee* ......

.....And then suddenly giggled and smiled mischeviously at him, before hovering up 'n over him and right to her master and gave them a close eyed wide smile and a much more chipper *Eeee!* She may have failed in her goal to spook the little boy, but it was still funny seeing him gap at her! Maybe next time she'll make a tasty meal and elicit some REAL fear out of him, tehe!

Ventus was about to let out another fond chuckle and (if permitted) fondly tussle her hair for their antics and properly introduce her to the young scholar, but them suddenly grappling on them, jerking him forward, and started to grill into him over his (admitidly true) suspicions. The empath didn't have a chance to react at all, and was left momentarily stunned from this unexpected rough treatment!

"Bwah?!"

Little Miss, while also being taken off guard by the boy's mood swing, recovered almost immediately and rapidly interposed herself between him and their weird master, this time actually getting right up in his face and giving him her best pseudo mean lock she could conjure up, letting out a angry high pitched *Eeeeeeeeee!* to accompany it that convey the basic notion :'Hey, knock it off!' She and her former trainer had enough manhandling for one day, and she wasn't about to let her new trainer being subjected to it too! If he didn't let go soon, she'll give him a REAL reason to get all work up...!

That screech does get Nathan to almost immediately move his hands to covering his ears until the screeching stops.  Nathan's pokemon do the same, but Ralts in particular is NOT enjoying that noise at ALL.  He looks about ready to use Hypnosis on that Ghost and be done with it, get some peace and quiet that way.

It wasn't lost on Nathan that Ventus was feelin' like he'd been caught red-handed in that surprise.  As soon as the screeching's stopped, Nathan carefully takes his hands off his ears, keeps them raised and near his head so he looks non-threatening to the ghost...

"...Ventus, the Skull Ruins are far, far more dangerous than any location you've probably been to.  Going there is a death sentence to all but the most experienced of trainers.  Even the Champion avoids it unless he has a VERY good reason to go there."

Wait a sec...

This ghost doesn't seem to be...aggressive...

Nathan lowers his hands.

"...Ventus...where'd you get this Misdreavus from?  And...why were you in the Skull Ruins if you didn't catch this Misdreavus there?"

...Nathan takes the moment to take a stab at answering his own question, actually, since Ventus is probably still trying to figure out how to respond.  Ralts is a little too spooked to properly focus right now, so he's hugging Furret's warm, furry side.

"...scouting the place out or looking for goodies, I assume?  Thought you'd be fine?  Look, I'm glad you're okay, but...trust me when I say there's nothing of value in there that's worth the trouble it would take to get it.  Okay?  Don't.  Go there.  It'll do nothing but create negative emotions...and every trip could be your last..."

...

"...did anyone get hurt?  Anyone at all?  Someone probably took a nasty ghost type move, right?  I've read that ghost type attacks get amplified to bone chilling levels while in the Ruins...that it damages the target's very soul instead of their body...*shudder*...a common thing that survivors do is visit the Cathedral afterwards.  You know, the one in this city.  The warmth of that place...it's so...bright and comforting...and it's so...open and wonderful...I can understand why they say it helps after having finally gone there myself..."

And Nathan's lost in thought again as he remembers the good time he had at the Cathedral just yesterday.  Aaaaahhh, that helps...

Notably, Emolga's also stopped chittering for the time being since Misdreavus showed up.