[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Spiritmon]

"Thank you anyway."

After finishing that Heart join with the others

[Iron]

Ventus goes on ahead and walks for a couple hours; still no sign of Shedinja. Malphena still doesn't seem worried. Then he comes to a very wide fork in the road and is not sure which way the group will want to go. One tunnel leads mostly downward and seems especially chilly, slick with ice.
Another tunnel goes slightly upward. It's dripping water.
The third tunnel seems to have a lot of twists and turns, doubling back.

The group should catch up in a couple hours, Ventus reckons.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Ventus goes on ahead and walks for a couple hours; still no sign of Shedinja. Malphena still doesn't seem worried. Then he comes to a very wide fork in the road and is not sure which way the group will want to go. One tunnel leads mostly downward and seems especially chilly, slick with ice.
Another tunnel goes slightly upward. It's dripping water.
The third tunnel seems to have a lot of twists and turns, doubling back.

The group should catch up in a couple hours, Ventus reckons.

Looking at each of the paths with a contemplative expression while rubbing his chin, Ventus pondered just which path did that ever elusive Shedinja take, before turning towards Malphena and Lucifer and offer them befuddled smile.

"The main path splits, just as Mr. Finer predicted. The question now is which one Shedinja choose themselves, or beyond that which one is the safest for ourselves to traverse. Hmm....Malphena, any idea which path they took? If not, which path do you think is the most ideal one for us to take? Lucifer, what are you thoughts on this, my brother?"

Order: Try to get a bearing on where the hecky that Shedinja went, and failing that try to acertain which path is the 'best'/'worst' by consulting with Malphena and Lucifer, with each briefly scouting ahead into each if necessary to form an opinion. Intelligence is what needed right now, not choosing a way to go willy nilly!

[Dragonstrike]

@PhantomUnderYourDesk @Spiritmon @Nylon

In the meantime, Nathan's rather excitedly talking with Shiva, Valder, and Heart about what he learned...though he's stuttering quite a lot the entire time.

"...y-yeah, so that g-giant plant is definitely called The Central Fern.  All the p-pokemon there d-definitely fill some k-kind of r-role.  Th-this level of t-teamwork between so many d-different kinds of wild p-pokemon is almost unheard of.  But I th-think I have a g-good idea why they're w-w-working t-together."

He's very clearly shivering.  It is COLD down here, and without Swiftfire out since he has to keep track of both Oddish Ditto (who's running around like crazy and spreading spores EVERYWHERE) and Solosis (Calam's still got his eyes on the little greenie, obviously), it's hitting him harder than before.

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

@PhantomUnderYourDesk @Spiritmon @Nylon

In the meantime, Nathan's rather excitedly talking with Shiva, Valder, and Heart about what he learned...though he's stuttering quite a lot the entire time.

"...y-yeah, so that g-giant plant is definitely called The Central Fern.  All the p-pokemon there d-definitely fill some k-kind of r-role.  Th-this level of t-teamwork between so many d-different kinds of wild p-pokemon is almost unheard of.  But I th-think I have a g-good idea why they're w-w-working t-together."

He's very clearly shivering.  It is COLD down here, and without Swiftfire out since he has to keep track of both Oddish Ditto (who's running around like crazy and spreading spores EVERYWHERE) and Solosis (Calam's still got his eyes on the little greenie, obviously), it's hitting him harder than before.

"Thanks goodness I kinda acostumed to go in chill places. When you travel though regions you must be taking care of that. Bless be ancestor Ark heh." Heart say opening a smile. He is better after the conversation with Nathan. And he feel he have a stronger bond with Nathan. Perhaps not as friends, but because they share the history. And because both them lost someone important to them.

Heart and Nathan at least know a little better each other. And Heart learn to have more respect to Warren. "But do not worry, I got you back." Then Heart release Rose of her pokeball. "Rose, could you help Nathan warn a bit please." Rose than warm Nathan a little better. She looks to him with a look who says: "Thank you for saving my master from his sadness. He is important to me." She smiled to him.

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

"Thanks goodness I kinda acostumed to go in chill places. When you travel though regions you must be taking care of that. Bless be ancestor Ark heh." Heart say opening a smile. He is better after the conversation with Nathan. And he feel he have a stronger bond with Nathan. Perhaps not as friends, but because they share the history. And because both them lost someone important to them.

Heart and Nathan at least know a little better each other. And Heart learn to have more respect to Warren. "But do not worry, I got you back." Then Heart release Rose of her pokeball. "Rose, could you help Nathan warn a bit please." Rose than warm Nathan a little better. She looks to him with a look who says: "Thank you for saving my master from his sadness. He is important to me." She smiled to him.

"Th-thanks.  Brrr...unfortunately, I'm...not really accustomed to the c-cold.  Living close to an active volcano doesn't really help build up a resistance to low t-temperatures...and considering you're from Sinnoh, the coldest region on a national scale by far, I'm not surprised you're used to these tempertures, Heart...I'd have Swiftfire out still (and Ralts, though he doesn't mention that out loud), but...well, Ditto's been quite the handful, as you can see...it's so weird...I don't think Oddish are usually this hyperactive..."

And having three or four pokemon out is only baaarely manageable, and only really when they're rather obedient and/or loyal at that...he doesn't say that out loud either.

"...a-anyways...Snivy was kind enough to answer a few of my questions concerning that area.  And it turns out that fern...well, it's not just another plant.  Somewhere in there...is a Regi.  A Legendary Titan.  Not one of Ice, Rock, or Steel.  Not their master and creator.  No...this one...seems to be different..."

"Six dots opened three doors.  And behind those doors laid seven more dots arranged in various, specific patterns.  That's a quote from Pyramid King Brandon's book.  Dot to Dot: A Journey Across Hoenn.  The important part behind that is the number of dots.  The six dots refers to the braille writing left behind in the Sealed Chambers of Hoenn, and each Titan has seven dots exactly for their faces, and the patterns they're arranged in are all unique.  Brandon put illustrations of the patterns in the book.  The one those Weavile were sporting wth their facepaint didn't match any of the ones the well known Titans have, though.  And the real kicker is that Snivy knew what I was talking about when I mentioned the term 'Regi', and specifically pointed to The Central Fern when I did."

He shivers again (but slightly less now that there's a Fire type for some warmth).

"...so...yeah.  Guess we can all say we've been in the presence of a Legend now.  Mind you, not one that I think would tolerate unwanted and/or...destructive company, but a Legend all the same."

"...oh yeah, and speaking of Snivy, it seems his friends/coworkers/superiors/whatever you want to call them were fine with him joining me to help out with the...situation up top, so that's not the last we'regoing to see of him by a long sh-shot."  Nathan's practically grinning from ear to ear as he says that.

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Spoiler

"Thanks goodness I kinda acostumed to go in chill places. When you travel though regions you must be taking care of that. Bless be ancestor Ark heh." Heart say opening a smile. He is better after the conversation with Nathan. And he feel he have a stronger bond with Nathan. Perhaps not as friends, but because they share the history. And because both them lost someone important to them.

Heart and Nathan at least know a little better each other. And Heart learn to have more respect to Warren. "But do not worry, I got you back." Then Heart release Rose of her pokeball. "Rose, could you help Nathan warn a bit please." Rose than warm Nathan a little better. She looks to him with a look who says: "Thank you for saving my master from his sadness. He is important to me." She smiled to him.

"Th-thanks.  Brrr...unfortunately, I'm...not really accustomed to the c-cold.  Living close to an active volcano doesn't really help build up a resistance to low t-temperatures...and considering you're from Sinnoh, the coldest region on a national scale by far, I'm not surprised you're used to these tempertures, Heart...I'd have Swiftfire out still (and Ralts, though he doesn't mention that out loud), but...well, Ditto's been quite the handful, as you can see...it's so weird...I don't think Oddish are usually this hyperactive..."

And having three or four pokemon out is only baaarely manageable, and only really when they're rather obedient and/or loyal at that...he doesn't say that out loud either.

"...a-anyways...Snivy was kind enough to answer a few of my questions concerning that area.  And it turns out that fern...well, it's not just another plant.  Somewhere in there...is a Regi.  A Legendary Titan.  Not one of Ice, Rock, or Steel.  Not their master and creator.  No...this one...seems to be different..."

"Six dots opened three doors.  And behind those doors laid seven more dots arranged in various, specific patterns.  That's a quote from Pyramid King Brandon's book.  Dot to Dot: A Journey Across Hoenn.  The important part behind that is the number of dots.  The six dots refers to the braille writing left behind in the Sealed Chambers of Hoenn, and each Titan has seven dots exactly for their faces, and the patterns they're arranged in are all unique.  Brandon put illustrations of the patterns in the book.  The one those Weavile were sporting wth their facepaint didn't match any of the ones the well known Titans have, though.  And the real kicker is that Snivy knew what I was talking about when I mentioned the term 'Regi', and specifically pointed to The Central Fern when I did."

He shivers again (but slightly less now that there's a Fire type for some warmth).

"...so...yeah.  Guess we can all say we've been in the presence of a Legend now.  Mind you, not one that I think would tolerate unwanted and/or...destructive company, but a Legend all the same."

"...oh yeah, and speaking of Snivy, it seems his friends/coworkers/superiors/whatever you want to call them were fine with him joining me to help out with the...situation up top, so that's not the last we'regoing to see of him by a long sh-shot."  Nathan's practically grinning from ear to ear as he says that.

"Wow. So we might expect meet a Legendary Pokemon. And one of the Titans on top of that. But if is not Regirock, Regiice, Registeel or even Regigas. Then who is? Also I find something too."

Heart search his bag and find the broken machine. "I have find the same machine you find with that Solosis of yours along with the corpse of a Solosis. Guess the poor guy try to sneak to here and was killed by the Weavile. I have to destroy this thing since we do not know if the Scimitars have some GPS to find the location. After we finish our business here in Mt. Sentry I gonna go to Star City to deliver Dagny this thing. She might discover something I hope. I was going there too to find some Pokemon battle to gain some money. My pockets it's almost empty. Could anyone fetch a teleport Pokemon?"

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Guess that this was farewell for now - 'goodbye, wonderful and mystic cavern of ice and grass, may you remain so beautiful as long as Dialga keeps time running. Goodbye, Central Fern' - Shiva will remember you. 'And thank you for letting me be your guest, thanks a lot for that gift you gave, I'll keep it as a treasure'. Everytime Shiva does look at the jar now, she's drawn into that circle of the jar darkening and lighting again, though she can only theorize over the meaning and purpose of this so far.


Onward they all went then, Furret is recalled by now for some rest, means the only Pokemon she has out at the moment are Dizzy (walking a few steps in front of her, as he is asked to stick close to her), Raphael (if there's enough room in the tunnel, he casually flies over her) and Cottonee (who returned to her favorite spot [on her beloved Master's head]). The latter is still full of seeds of Oddish, how a Dittoddish is running around at the moment spreading EVEN MORE seeds is not helping at all. Shiva's hair and cloak certainly caught some of these spores as well, but luckily she's not allergic to them - in fact, she doesn't mind too much, at best she only rejoices over being able to contribute to the spreading of seeds of a Grass Type.
Her hair and cloak are also featuring some specks of snow, it'll probably melt away slowly due to the coldness down here. Speaking of coldness, she doesn't mind that either - she's warm, her Ranger's Cloak does keep her warm even on the snow top of Mount Sentry and down in it's icy and dark heart. There's always a fresh breeze from the sea in Castiia City regardless of how many yards away from the coastline you live, heat is way more an issue for her - it tends to get to her head, during hot summer days, it quickly gets stuffy and sticky in the streets, eek. Then, Shiva usually either remained at home or deliberately took a few Ice Types for walks to the Central Park.

Frankly, she's also missing Ventus even more now that he's even physically absent - it pains. IT PAINS, IT HURTS, MAKE IT STOP! The thought of something happening to him, this was something that was giving her anxious chills over her whole body. 
Nonsense, my dear. He's tough, you know that.
And if he gets lost? Takes a wrong turn?!
He's not so dumb to risk that, even in his eager to find that Shedninja.
...I do hope you're correct.
Have I ever lied to you simply to ease you...?
You haven't.
See? You'll see him again. Look, you have his child with you... And you and Ven made a promise to keep yourselves safe.

Indeed, Shiva gave Raphael above her a thankful smile that only he'd notice  - the archangel gave her hope. Hope was worth more than the food she carried, when things were dire she had still her Pokemon with her to provide some figurative light. They're with one - somewhat intuitive, Shiva reached up to stroke over her Cottonee's soft fluff, not minding that some spores will stick to her hand then. The state of peaceful trance has not yet faded completely, and now that Shiva has 'returned' again, she can feel the aftermaths - they were not harmful. She felt okay, she'll tune down as the way continues, her senses slowly will get back to the natural alertness, all while she was humming the sound of the wonderland to her and her Pokemon.

When petting the fluff of her Cottonee, she can feel the love this Pokemon harbours for her to a greater degree due to her subconscious mind still being more awake - how touching. It's mutual friendshippy love, these two will slay dragons until even a furious Hydreigon will think twice before approaching them.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Actually, Shiva is not too up to talk. She's half-lost in thought still and wouldn't mind walking in slence - though that wasn't the case, for the most part she was simply listening to what has been shared and discussed, making her own thoughts about things, keeping watch over things and how they develop when Ventus was not there. Certainly she does pick up that some things have 'changed' between the boy and the PUNisher, that's very obvious to her. She wonders about, frowns and asks herself where this came from, before she eventually connects it to when Heart returned in a bad state and Ralts stepped forward while she and Ven scouted ahead - fine, one problem less she has to take care of and worry about. It's delightful to see, however regaining her trust wasn't that easy.

Only when Heart revealed that he has found ANOTHER SOLOSIS-SPY Shiva visibly perked up and brought her attention fully to the others. She even spoke up, shyly at first. "Another one of these? Well.... Seems like the Weavile already dealt with it before we even noticed it. They deserve our thanks for this act, for taking their guardian-duties serious. Good call that you destroyed the machine, Heart.... Ah, I can gladly loan my Kadabra to you when we're back on the surface. I raised Helios from the state of an Abra, teleporting is his speciality - remind me of that and come when you need his skills, and you will be granted them."

Guess that was the trigger to end Shiva surrounding herself with silence, finally and luckily she was speaking up to give her thoughts and input on things; still carefully though. "A Legendary? Ah... That'd partly explain things. You know, I...well, I went as close to the Central Fern as possible, as it was somehow calling for me. It welcomed me, seemed glad that I came to say hello and wasn't afraid at all, it was wonderful and almost overwhelming to feel that protective and sentinel aura from such a near distance. Everything of Mount Sentry seems to be a part of a big symbiosis, the Furret, Sentret, Patrat and even the Shrine of Candelabra, it all comes back to this Central Fern, IT cares for them and protects them while the Pokemon keep IT alive. IT knows little of you not, it felt as it read me and noticed that I was peaceful, something is also weird and curious about these shadows that were wrapped around the Central Fern. Furret obtained a bit of it for me to take along."

Taking a breath, she softly continued. "This Fern also featured the same marking that was 'painted' on the Weavile's faces. If it's none of the Regis we know, then it's probably something bigger... Something the Pokedex couldn't identify, something that's unique to Creshire?"

[Iron]

Spoiler

Ventus goes on ahead and walks for a couple hours; still no sign of Shedinja. Malphena still doesn't seem worried. Then he comes to a very wide fork in the road and is not sure which way the group will want to go. One tunnel leads mostly downward and seems especially chilly, slick with ice.
Another tunnel goes slightly upward. It's dripping water.
The third tunnel seems to have a lot of twists and turns, doubling back.

The group should catch up in a couple hours, Ventus reckons.

Looking at each of the paths with a contemplative expression while rubbing his chin, Ventus pondered just which path did that ever elusive Shedinja take, before turning towards Malphena and Lucifer and offer them befuddled smile.

"The main path splits, just as Mr. Finer predicted. The question now is which one Shedinja choose themselves, or beyond that which one is the safest for ourselves to traverse. Hmm....Malphena, any idea which path they took? If not, which path do you think is the most ideal one for us to take? Lucifer, what are you thoughts on this, my brother?"

Order: Try to get a bearing on where the hecky that Shedinja went, and failing that try to acertain which path is the 'best'/'worst' by consulting with Malphena and Lucifer, with each briefly scouting ahead into each if necessary to form an opinion. Intelligence is what needed right now, not choosing a way to go willy nilly!

Malphena isn't quite sure which path to take, but she thinks she has a connection on Shedinja. Ventus theorizes she may be able to follow the fear/doom spread in its wake. So she knows which compass point direction Shedinja went, but not which tunnel leads there - and Shedinja can phase right through walls. Closest is the dripping tunnel.

Lucifer has no way of knowing anything about Shedinja, but he does NOT want to go down the especially chilly tunnel.