[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Valder will:
 - check out Tome Of Genealogy, hoping he's actually a noble.
 - Heal. For the relaxation
 - Check out an item from the relic library. Hoping for Wide Lens.
 - and, if any of the technical manuals offer something that doesn't require the ability to read, Valder will give it attention.

...These are kinda second priority, though.
 Valder's mainly looking for a specific book. He tells his boss to kindly look for a book named "the Croconawmicon"

When Nathan enters the Library, the first thing he does is look for Valder.  He said he would help the mercenary, so that's what he's going to do!

TM Teaching:
First off, (if needed) Nathan makes sure Valder knows what all his options are before checking out what his own pokemon can learn.

Spoiler

Mamo: (Icicle Crash is not a valid choice due to not being a TM, unfortunately.  Valder can still pick out another move, though!)
- Fissure (careful, this move is really hard to use with a -7 Accuracy penalty)
- Avalanche (Ice type Revenge, courtesy of Gen 4!)
- Body Slam (courtesy of Gen 1)
- Stealth Rock

Haunter:
- Icy Wind
- Giga Drain (but he has to evolve first according to Iron's ruling.  Nathan can help arrange that, though, since his Pokedex has a Trade function.  And if Valder wants to do the round trade with Shiva and Helios, there's a convenient PC here that we can use!)

Delta Pineco (already knows Stealth Rock, which is cool)
- Secret Power (I personally think this is a fun move to use)

As for Nathan's own pokemon, he'll swap out a few pokemon at the Time Capsule, then he'll teach Solomon Brine and Juliet U-Turn and Attract.

Free non-fight Specialty Point:
Nathan feels great in this location.  There's sooo many books he wants to read, so many things he wants to look for...so much, in fact, that his Alert increases to 2 for 6 exp so he can look for them!  And the book he reads raises it to 3!

As for Valder, he needs to decide which specialty he wants that free point in.  Either Earthpower or Alert is fine, but you only get to pick one (and if you want to get the most bang for your buck, spend some exp on raising that specialty either 1 or 2 levels first)


Tome of Genealogy
If Valder still needs some assistance here, Nathan will be more than happy to provide it.

As for Nathan...

"...wait, I actually do have noble blood?!  You're kidding me, right?  That can't possibly be correct...can it?"

So...out of curiosity, who does Nathan happen to be related to?  And does the +1 Loyalty only apply to actual Dragon types, or would pokemon like Charmeleon, Helioptile, Snivy(?), etc benefit as well due to popular association with dragonkind?

Check Out an Item
This one's actually also a question for Charmeleon: which Mega Charizard form would he prefer?  The tough, draconic talons of Mega Charizard X, or the flighty, dry flames of Mega Charizard Y?  Whichever one it is, that's the Mega Stone I'd like to look for.  3 Insight + 3 Survival + 3 Alert - 3 difficulty = 6 D6

Side Note: it can be assumed that Nathan also tells Charmeleon about the noble blood thing.  Nathan's still rather awestruck and a tad uncertain about the whole thing, but what does Charmeleon think of the news?

Other
By this time, Shiva's probably found Nathan to request that battle!

This might also be around the time that those more than human traits start becoming more apparent...

There's still more I'd like to do here, but that can wait until after the short battle with Shiva.

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Heart together with Nathan have returned to Atheneum. He was so amaze he couldnt decided what to do first. But he heal his pokemon before anything just to make sure. Heart dont decided yet what move their pokemons shall learn so he will leave that one for last. First he make some priorities first.

1 - Technical Manuals: Heart decided to learn a lot more about Earthpower. Since they are inside this place, maybe the Earthpower help Heart in that Quest for that sword Ark have mentioned.

2 - Relic Library: Since Heart will need to recover the money he spend, he decided to try that Relic thing to take a Amulet Coin. To make sure it will work, I using 12XP to raise Alert in one point. Heart Alert is now 3. In total the dice is 9d6.

3 - He go to the Time Capsule and make a quick swap on his team to put Patrat in PC for now.

4 - Technical Machine Library: He go in the direction of the Technical Machine Library and teach to his pokemon a few powerfull moves: Gargryph will learn Substitute, Rose will learn Thunder Punch for a better protection against Water and Flying and Viktor shall learn Drain Punch to make him the ultimate self healer.

5 - Tome of Genealogy: That last one was bit trick. Heart decided to go ask how this Tome work to make him Awake the Blood of his ancestor.

1 - Heart gains 1 Specialty in Earthpower. You're starting to understand how every Pokemon utilizes it - even a Rattata's Bite is an expression of Earthpower.

2 - Since Ventus already sought out an Amulet Coin, it's less likely there will be a second one. 
(6)(6)(3)(5)(3)
Heart manages to find another one Slaking wasn't aware of. Ventus' has a picture of Majungold on it. Heart's is a king you don't recognize but he's draped in jewelry and finery.

5 - Heart knows his ancestry pretty well! I suggest Soldier, which will give all ghost Pokemon +1 Loyalty to Heart, including Viktor. It fits with the Knights of his eldest ancestors. To Awaken the Blood, he just needs to telegraph his ancestry in a certain way described in the book, a way that Ghost Pokemon will recognize.

"Awesome!" Heart have returned to the Time Capsule to return Gargryph for now. "My friend, just stay in the PC for a while okay? I soon get check you alright?" 

Heart release his companion Gustav of the pokeball. "My friend, we are finally here in Atheneum. Our journey is soon get to the end. When we finish here, we are gonna return to Star City. We will get there find some battles and of course, get some money. We will need every piece to buy some items. I need you tol hold this for now." Then Heart show the Amulet Coin. "This is for you my friend, for all the hard work we have be doing until now."

Heart aproach the book and begin to telegraph his ancestry. "My name...is Joseph ArcHeart, last son of the house of Ark the United, the might Knight of Flames. I a soon of Sinnoh, devoted of the Creator Arceus and blade of the rulers of Time, Space and Reality: Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. Knight spirits from the ancient times, guide me though my quest. Old ArcHearts from the past, lend me your strengh to rebuild our Clan. And Crimson Maiden Ark...I not strong as you are...but lend me a bit of your strengh in my quest!"

After doing that ritual Heart decided to have a speak with Nathan. "So...care to tell me what this sword is about my friend?"

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Just that Gothitelle seems somewhat interested in the technical aspects of the statue-hologram. She seems to be considering how she might do something similar with her space-distorting powers if she got enough practice.

Shiva does pick this up for sure, but she seem innocent how she can help Lilith directly to do such a cool thing - that, and she likely (definitely?) will need to take off her infamous tinfoil hat to set these space-distorting powers free. Humm, one thing after the other - first these two need to form a strong enough bond to share visions, maybe by then things will look different.





Exploring Atheneum, Part 1 of ???
(I'll split things to prevent huge and maybe confusing posts if it's fine. And I'd like to spend lots of time in Atheneum/enjoy the location, please!)


Haaaahhh, it was an almost ceremonical moment for arcane-interested Shiva as she took the first step into the Secret Library!~ Actuall, not 'almost' - the quest has been hard, long and effortful, so many obstacles had to be dealt with and so many wild Pokemon tried to give them a hard time - on the bright side, so many valuable things were met (Pokemon and items alike), so unique places have been visited that probably have never seen a human in decades (or even more) and experiences were forged that would never be possible at the surface (Captain Bridge Encounter springs to her mind first). Now, as she took a deep breath and stepped forward to explore the destination of the journey they've all longed to finally find - it was almost saddening for the moody fae enthusiast.

They've made it, prooved themselves worthy to visit this place - Shiva will not leave and openly refuse to do so until she has explored everything she wanted to explore.

Gazing around, she mildly frowned, which happened to look rather weird with the radiant smile she also casted. The reason for this reaction was that to some degree Atheneum was exactly how she imagined it to, and to some degree it totally went against this picture she painted in her mind. But one thing could be said for sure: She instantly feels comfortable and welcome in Atheneum. <3 When the massive Slaking introduced herself to her, she met it with a delighted chuckle followed by a rather deep bow to express her respect. Gothitelle follows this gesture. "Be greeted, mighty Slaking of Atheneum! You must be the librarian of this place, am I right? It fills me with joy to have made it to your lair after the long journey from up at the surface, I'll make sure to be a welcomed guest to you and handle things properly and carefully. That One Question... I'll come to you concerning this later, alright? Yet I am undisclosed what to ask and the choice should be wellthought, maybe I'll get the spark of inspiration while browsing through things."


The first things Shiva does is looking around to decide what to do first, by coincidence she spotted both Heart and Valder while doing so: Good opportunity to bring the message Nathan emphasized her, so she'll carefully approach them: "Eh.... Hi! Well, I just wanted to let you know that Nathan will come soon and help you on things, he remained at the shack that we two examinated for a little longer than I did. Don't ask me for details, I'm just the messager!~ I think I'll get along myself here, so please grant me some needed alone time unless you need my help specifically, alright?"
Luckily Ventus/@Lord Windos was with Valder at the moment, so here's the chance to bring an info to him that waited to be brought to him since yesterday: "Ven, dear! I....well, I just wanted to...inform you about the state of the Delibird Egg you gave into my care.... Do you remember? The good news is that it's doing fine. The less good news... It'll likely hatch tomorrow (in-game Day 63), but since I've been carrying it around almost immediately after you received it, the young one may be more prone to recognize me as a parent instead of you. I......well..... I'm fine with that and keep the hatchling for myself - but the questions is, are you?" After a small break, she also adds something more in a lower and appologizing voice while looking away from him: "Please.....don't look at me like I was a stranger or a threat again, Ven. That gaze from you a little ago.... To say it didn't hurt me would be lying, but to say that I can't understand why you reacted like this would be lying as well. The Gauntlet wasn't malicious AT ALL - in fact, it was friendly. Very friendly. It called... I just seem to be rather susceptible for such calls. Please don't blame the object though - blame me if you want."


Once that has been wrapped up/cleared, Shiva feels more free. Free to explore!~ Let's see the things she'll do at first/have priority:

1. That burgundy carped with the light of particular color washing upwards from it caught her attention - humm, since none really reacted to it I'd actually like to, I don't know if it's important or has a purpose or I'm just interpreting things weirdl - but what things/titles can Shiva read when standing in a light green light?

2.1 Healing her Pokemon at the Healing Machine! It won't tale long as only Mightyena needs to have his 3 points of damage patched up. While doing so....

2.2 ....she takes a stroll through the place, searching for the rare belt of a seasoned fighter - an Expert Belt. (I know I could get Alakazam's Megastone, but I don't want to). 5 Insight + 3 Survival + 0 Alert -2 penalty = 6d6, I wonder if Azumarill could lend a Helping Hand if Shiva fails the first Roll?

3. After having the Slowking with a Steel Type-Shellder as a crown (!) a greeting gesture, she swaps Tropius for Braixen and Mighytena for Nightshade (Cherubi). Both of them get summoned from the scene to be dragged into a CLOSE AND DEAR hug! Awwwww, how Shiva has missed her magical fox and sunbringer! She doesn't want to let go, but eventually has to - Braixen can stay out of his Ball to accompany Shiva now as well.

4. Getting comfy at the TM-part of the Library. Let's see:
- Nightshade gets to learn Nature Power, which was a TM since Gen.6. This will be a cool move for her.
- Luxi gets to learn Attract, which was a TM45 since Gen.2. (I know I asked whether this move is possible for Alola Vulpix, Iron - but looking at things again, I figured this move would suit Luxi's lower HP and highened Vitality better.)
- The last move..... will be thaught to Braixen after he hopefully evolved to his final form after the quick-battle with Nathan.


Phew, cutting here to await the outcomes of these actions. Next is the battle, then Shiva gets to explore the rest of things. When the more-than-human-traits have their apprance, is up to GM, I'll look forward to seeing these!~

[Iron]

Yep, there have long been pockets of nobility in Trillium Town. They're all descended from Sarimanok's grandfather, Feng Huang, who once held the throne. Nathan has heard of this guy, though he's not as historically significant as Sarimanok, but Nathan didn't know they shared distant kinship.

Charmeleon will respect you more, but not to the point of +1 Loyalty - more like it will be easier to increase his loyalty or to convince new dragonlike Pokemon to follow you. Since his origins are the desert, he'd rather be Mega Charizard Y.
(5)(5)(3)(4)(2)(2) Nathan finds the flamelike gem! It was in a scroll case.
Charmeleon thinks this news means he's much more likely to defeat more gym leaders!

[Iron]

The green light seems to make Shiva a faster reader. As she scans the titles, she sees one that describes how to tie a Greenleaf Destiny Knot, which guarantees a chosen Egg Move will be passed down from one of the parents. It also increases the chance a recessive Egg Move will show up.

(4)(5)(6)(5)(5)(4)
The Expert Belt is tying a trilogy of romances together.

Braixen is avoiding Ventus, which is pretty easy since Ventus is mostly in a hammock.

[Iron]

More Than Human

You can go beyond normal human limits. Your max Will Score is now 12. Your max ability score for Insight is now 6 (before badges).

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

The green light seems to make Shiva a faster reader. As she scans the titles, she sees one that describes how to tie a Greenleaf Destiny Knot, which guarantees a chosen Egg Move will be passed down from one of the parents. It also increases the chance a recessive Egg Move will show up.

THIS....already made the trip to Atheneum worthy alone. Will be super-useful when Shiva will start on that Rock Smash-Eevee-breeding to obtain a scholarship for Telperion University. Thank you, oh precious and worthy carpet hanging on the wall! May you hang there for much longer and grant more people hidden knowledge.

Expert Belt is carefully packed away, it'll become useful for various Pokemon of hers. She's also making sure to remember the titles of the romantic trilogy for later casual reading! After everyone is done exploring, can we actually make good use of all the beds and hammocks in Atheneum to sleep over there and start our way back to the surface on the next in-game Day?


Whoops, for a moment I forgot that Shiva's beloved magical fox hates the guts of his Master's significant other, but he can avoid him as much as he likes without Shiva trying to clear things. Nope, she's having way more important issues now - getting him to evolve. Getting him to become a precious Delphox..... "Braixen", she spoke to him in a telling tone of voice, "There is one move I'd like to teach you with the help of this Library - the issue is that we have to awake your dormant psychic powers to do so. We have to increase your dazzling skills of channeling fire power - but maybe a battle alongside Lilith here, a Pokemon of mine bearing mighty psychic power, might do so? Try to concentrate on them while firering off your moves, try to feel Atheneum's might and allow it to awake what has been waiting to wake up...."

Wherever Nathan currently, is Shiva will carefully and a bit meekly approach him and ask for that battle held at Atheneum's courtyard - right in front of The Gauntlet, if Celebi allowes.

Conditions

2vs2 Double Battle, my Pokemon of choice a Braixen and Gothitelle. No healing items, and no fainting please. No outright steamrolling of the opponent either, the intention is to help Braixen. Trying to win anyway is of course allowed!

Before the battle starts, I'm also spending 11xp on Braixen to speed up his evolution, hopefully that'll be enough. 11 is said to be a highly spiritual number according to numerologists.

Ready when you are @Dragonstrike, and ready for Init Order as soon as you've sent out your Pokemon!

[Dragonstrike]

Yep, there have long been pockets of nobility in Trillium Town. They're all descended from Sarimanok's grandfather, Feng Huang, who once held the throne. Nathan has heard of this guy, though he's not as historically significant as Sarimanok, but Nathan didn't know they shared distant kinship.

Charmeleon will respect you more, but not to the point of +1 Loyalty - more like it will be easier to increase his loyalty or to convince new dragonlike Pokemon to follow you. Since his origins are the desert, he'd rather be Mega Charizard Y.
(5)(5)(3)(4)(2)(2) Nathan finds the flamelike gem! It was in a scroll case.
Charmeleon thinks this news means he's much more likely to defeat more gym leaders!

Question: is that relation on his mom or dad's side?

"Hehe.  Nice to see you so enthusiastic about getting this Mega Stone, but ya gotta evolve before you can use this bad boy.  Well, and I also have to get a Key Stone...and it usually takes a strong bond and perfect synchronization to get Mega Evolution to work...but I'm certain we'll get there eventually, right Charmeleon?  We'll just both have to work on it a little."

[Nylon]

Valder finds Shiva when she has some time. He suggests they do their round trade here, as it'll be more of a special trade if they do it in the secrt library iteslf! Might be good for the pokemon as well!
 Haunter's up.
Valder will talk with Haunter modestly and say that they'll be back in his party in a second, and that he looks forward to seeing how they've grown. Valder will try his best to comfort Haunter, in other words.

 (I HAVE to go to bed now, so you can just go through the whole process and I can see the results in about 15 hours or more.)

[Iron]

Yep, there have long been pockets of nobility in Trillium Town. They're all descended from Sarimanok's grandfather, Feng Huang, who once held the throne. Nathan has heard of this guy, though he's not as historically significant as Sarimanok, but Nathan didn't know they shared distant kinship.

Charmeleon will respect you more, but not to the point of +1 Loyalty - more like it will be easier to increase his loyalty or to convince new dragonlike Pokemon to follow you. Since his origins are the desert, he'd rather be Mega Charizard Y.
(5)(5)(3)(4)(2)(2) Nathan finds the flamelike gem! It was in a scroll case.
Charmeleon thinks this news means he's much more likely to defeat more gym leaders!

Question: is that relation on his mom or dad's side?

"Hehe.  Nice to see you so enthusiastic about getting this Mega Stone, but ya gotta evolve before you can use this bad boy.  Well, and I also have to get a Key Stone...and it usually takes a strong bond and perfect synchronization to get Mega Evolution to work...but I'm certain we'll get there eventually, right Charmeleon?  We'll just both have to work on it a little."

If both your parents are from Trillium originally, I'd say dad.