[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Nathan with closed eyes as he responds to Shiva.

"...this is my fight too, Shiva.  Is there any doubt that Gallade and I want to tag along with Calam?  We're done with being victims.  No more Purrloin footing around this for us.  Whether they kidnapped my uncle because he was a witness to the crime or were trying to spite me personally hardly matters.  They've attacked me, my dad, my uncle...I find myself thanking Aotius, Mutios, and Arceus that my mom has been left out of all of this, that she and Max and the ranch and Trillium are all still perfectly okay...minus the stress of potentially losing her family again...but that's a problem I aim to fix...or if I can't, at least find some closure for everyone..."

He opens his eyes, looks at Gallade and Calam, looks directly at Shiva, a determined look in his eye.  Right now, all he really cares about is getting his uncle and Keni back.  He looks back at Calam.

"...safety in numbers, as the saying goes, but we should also proceed with caution.  Calam, how many of us do you think should go with you?"

If it was the PUNisher's intention to startle Shiva, it was a partial success - she was able to sense his presence almost immediately but he adressed her before she was able to properly react, means she cringes a tad bit, clings her starry-covered notebook and quickly steps aside. If the natural fae enthusiast would be scared successfully here, she'd probably slap the 'attacker' with that book.

"H... Hello Heart", she manages to word, "good to see you. Eh.... Yes, we did find out something - things are pointing to the villains fortress, to the labs, to Almanac, to their building we saw earlier - you remember?" She'll explain to Heart where that guess comes from and what Nathan and she have found out, including her interpretation of Xatu's prophecy which is all in the upper posts, I need sleep and am too tired to sum up now, sorry - does the bird react in some way actually as Shiva does so? Just out of curiosity.

Shiva smiles mildly towards Nathan and gives him an understanding and agreeing nod as she takes a stable stance. "I wouldn't have expected anything different from you."

If it was the PUNisher's intention to startle Shiva, it was a partial success - she was able to sense his presence almost immediately but he adressed her before she was able to properly react, means she cringes a tad bit, clings her starry-covered notebook and quickly steps aside. If the natural fae enthusiast would be scared successfully here, she'd probably slap the 'attacker' with that book.

"H... Hello Heart", she manages to word, "good to see you. Eh.... Yes, we did find out something - things are pointing to the villains fortress, to the labs, to Almanac, to their building we saw earlier - you remember?" She'll explain to Heart where that guess comes from and what Nathan and she have found out, including her interpretation of Xatu's prophecy which is all in the upper posts, I need sleep and am too tired to sum up now, sorry - does the bird react in some way actually as Shiva does so? Just out of curiosity.

Nope, Xatu pretty much never reacts. Unlike Calam or Gallade, it doesn't feel any urge to communicate about its foretellings.

Nathan with closed eyes as he responds to Shiva.

"...this is my fight too, Shiva.  Is there any doubt that Gallade and I want to tag along with Calam?  We're done with being victims.  No more Purrloin footing around this for us.  Whether they kidnapped my uncle because he was a witness to the crime or were trying to spite me personally hardly matters.  They've attacked me, my dad, my uncle...I find myself thanking Aotius, Mutios, and Arceus that my mom has been left out of all of this, that she and Max and the ranch and Trillium are all still perfectly okay...minus the stress of potentially losing her family again...but that's a problem I aim to fix...or if I can't, at least find some closure for everyone..."

He opens his eyes, looks at Gallade and Calam, looks directly at Shiva, a determined look in his eye.  Right now, all he really cares about is getting his uncle and Keni back.  He looks back at Calam.

"...safety in numbers, as the saying goes, but we should also proceed with caution.  Calam, how many of us do you think should go with you?"

Calam shrugs. It's up to the party.

Calam shrugs. It's up to the party.

"Alright, one other question: are we doing this tonight?"

"A great guess. And our best direction. I going with you people. I was practically raise in the art of stealth. Against my will, but eh it's come in handy sometimes. I the stealthiest member of this team."

"Also, we might as well take our best stealth Pokemon to this mission. Along with ways to escape with everyone who have capture: Xatu, Alakazam and Gallade is those chances. Gustav and Rose will go with me for more fire power. Atlas, Viktor and Honedge are ghosts so they might be useful in this mission. Kecleon can make himself invisible despite the paint in his belly. Caesar, Nidorina and D-Pineco can set traps in case our enemies follow us. I could bring D-Onix and set a Tailwind to help us, but a frickin Onix would call to much attention. My party would more or less like that:"

Xatu
Rose
Gustav/Netune
Atlas/Viktor/Honedge
Kecleon
Caesar/Nidorina/D-Pineco/D-ONIX

"Any plans on mind people to this mission?"

[Iron]

Calam shrugs. It's up to the party.

"Alright, one other question: are we doing this tonight?"

Calam and Gallade are up for it. Of course, being Pokemon, they have little concept of preparation.

[Mikaruge108]

Spira speaks up; "My Pokemon are probably more stealthy than I, but I'd still like to come along, because I'm sure I could be of help."

[Dragonstrike]

"It's hard to make plans for delving into unknown enemy territory.  The best we'll be able to do is bring all the pokemon we think will be able to help us and bring enough items to get through any major trouble we might run into.  If we get caught, we'll likely be outnumbered.  And if we aren't outdoors nor have a way to get outside quickly, Teleport isn't going to be able to get us out of there.  Traps might not help us much either since we're the ones sneaking around.  We'll want to go as unnoticed as possible."

"Is Delta Pineco Obedient, Heart?  I know for a fact that my Delta Forretress isn't.  Delta Pineco might be a little unruly as well.  We should probably avoid relying on Disobedient pokemon."  (OOC: I remember D-Pineco had 1 Disobedience)



Nathan turns to Spira.  "...you sure you want to get involved in this?  I mean, I know you technically are already, but...this is probably going to be dangerous.  And if we get caught, we could be in a lot of trouble in a lot of different ways."

He knows Shiva and Heart won't be dissuaded from joining for varying reasons.  He needs to double check if Spira really thinks he can be of help with this mission, though.  (@Mikaruge108)

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Crossing her arms lightly, Shiva falls into a pondering and hefting state, she lets thoughts come and go within her mind. Eventually she gives an agreeing nod to both Heart and Spira. "I believe both of you would do well to come along. For a different reason, indeed, but I don't want to... miss out on you. Let me explain...", she coughs and raises her voice once more, "Heart, you should come due to your said skills in sneaking around unnoticed, they'll come in handy for sure. But please promise that you'll keep yourself and your emotions under control down there in the labs - a deep hate for the Scims accepted, but one bad decision or rushed action could get get us into big trouble." That does not mean she doesn't trust the PUNisher, she hopes Heart gets it as what they are: Constructive words of advice. "An Onix, even a smaller Delta Version, would arise too much attention though, I... I wouldn't bring him along."

She continues. "Spira, Ghost Types have a good chance to come in helpful on enemy's terrain. You see, they can phase through walls, attack silently, infiltrate machines or similar to deactivate them and scout the nearby area to warm us from traps and security devices - AND, importantly, they obey you. Well, apart from Mero at the moment. If you'd like to come along, please do." (Basically, remember what Valder did with Ghastly in the Scim Base in Wineberry Town, how it has helped us? I liked that.)


Concerning the question WHEN to actually get started on things, Shiva vehemently shakes her head when Nathan carefully asked whether they should do that tonight, appears a bit startled by the thought of getting going right away. "If I'm... I mean, I don't think that it'd be that much of a decent idea to head there right away. Dizzy - or Calam - and Gallade, I can see you're all ready, but please understand that we are not yet. It needs an amount of preparation to manage such a delicate task, such a restocking on medicine and such. We're also soon to tire out, the day will be done in few hours. No, how'd it sound if we'd, well... start on things tomorrow morning? We could meet up here at the shack when the sun rises and get going together. If possible, I'd avoid sneaking anywhere near their lab building while it's dark - yes, we can hide in the darkness and use it to our advantage, but Reshiram shall burn me to ashes if Almanac does NOT have any ways to notice unwanted guests even in the dead of night. Pokemon they're using as trained watchers perhaps are also equpped with senses that are finer than ours, some might even spot us in total darkness - Noctowl are capable of such a thing, for example. The labs might even be occupied at night, if they're not the security system is probably enhanced to prevent nasty suprises in the mornings."

It's a bit uncomfortable for Shiva to speak her mind like this, but she is being brave at the moment. Bold, one could even say - yet not rushed or unprofessional, she desires to be as sure about things as possible.


Additional note:
Since I'm also almost sure that there'll be Encounters or battles or bascially things that'll take a Slot for us within Almanac's, I very much prefer to not suffer penalities on dice rolls - which me and Spirit will since we've used our 3 Slots per day. If there'll be fights within the labs or against Scims, they're probably going to be hardcore. UNLESS Iron, you can confirm to us beforehand that whatever we'll do, we won't suffer penalties.

[Mikaruge108]

Spira listens carefully to Shiva's vote of confidence, then voices his decision; "I'm fairly confidant that my ghosts, and I, can handle the 'sabotage'. Like I said before, I'm going." A smile forms on his face as he contemplates the sabotage.

kinda like this one

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan sighs and fixes Spira with a rather unamused look. "We're not going there for the purpose of sabotaging anything, Spira.  That being said, though...I'm probably going to bring a pokemon that would be perfect for that job anyways if there might be good reason to do so.  Even better than most Ghost or Electric types in some cases.  I've got two pokemon that could do something like that, though I don't think you'd recognize either of them, Spira."

Shiva and Heart would probably know that Nathan's talking about his Porygon-Z and Rotom.  One an artificial pokemon that's a recent invention, the other a pokemon that had only been discovered fairly recently.  (given that according to Pokemon Platinum, the first Rotom encountered emerged from an electric lawn mower, and Team Galactic's Charon was the first one to properly document Rotom's ability to inhabit electronics and alter its form accordingly, Rotom was probably discovered within the last 20-50 years)

Plus, everyone else doesn't know yet, but if Nathan's going to use those USB drives that Dagny gave him, the electronics they're inserted into kinda have to be functional...



When Shiva suggests they hold off until morning, Nathan thinks for a moment...

"...we'd have to get up really early, then.  We don't want to get caught there when the labs are at their most busy.  If we don't do this tonight, we can't oversleep.  We might have to get up before the sun does, even.  Going in while it's dark isn't just to remain hidden.  It's also to try and ensure we run into as few people as possible.  I doubt the employees there work 24/7." In addition, though, he also mutters, "...unless Almanac treats their employees as badly as the pokemon they study, that is..."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

(Does Rotom obey commands without a roll? My memory's saying no, but it's shaddy. Sorry if I can't remember clearly!)

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

"It's hard to make plans for delving into unknown enemy territory.  The best we'll be able to do is bring all the pokemon we think will be able to help us and bring enough items to get through any major trouble we might run into.  If we get caught, we'll likely be outnumbered.  And if we aren't outdoors nor have a way to get outside quickly, Teleport isn't going to be able to get us out of there.  Traps might not help us much either since we're the ones sneaking around.  We'll want to go as unnoticed as possible."

"Is Delta Pineco Obedient, Heart?  I know for a fact that my Delta Forretress isn't.  Delta Pineco might be a little unruly as well.  We should probably avoid relying on Disobedient pokemon."  (OOC: I remember D-Pineco had 1 Disobedience)



Nathan turns to Spira.  "...you sure you want to get involved in this?  I mean, I know you technically are already, but...this is probably going to be dangerous.  And if we get caught, we could be in a lot of trouble in a lot of different ways."

He knows Shiva and Heart won't be dissuaded from joining for varying reasons.  He needs to double check if Spira really thinks he can be of help with this mission, though.  (@Mikaruge108)

Crossing her arms lightly, Shiva falls into a pondering and hefting state, she lets thoughts come and go within her mind. Eventually she gives an agreeing nod to both Heart and Spira. "I believe both of you would do well to come along. For a different reason, indeed, but I don't want to... miss out on you. Let me explain...", she coughs and raises her voice once more, "Heart, you should come due to your said skills in sneaking around unnoticed, they'll come in handy for sure. But please promise that you'll keep yourself and your emotions under control down there in the labs - a deep hate for the Scims accepted, but one bad decision or rushed action could get get us into big trouble." That does not mean she doesn't trust the PUNisher, she hopes Heart gets it as what they are: Constructive words of advice. "An Onix, even a smaller Delta Version, would arise too much attention though, I... I wouldn't bring him along."

She continues. "Spira, Ghost Types have a good chance to come in helpful on enemy's terrain. You see, they can phase through walls, attack silently, infiltrate machines or similar to deactivate them and scout the nearby area to warm us from traps and security devices - AND, importantly, they obey you. Well, apart from Mero at the moment. If you'd like to come along, please do." (Basically, remember what Valder did with Ghastly in the Scim Base in Wineberry Town, how it has helped us? I liked that.)


Concerning the question WHEN to actually get started on things, Shiva vehemently shakes her head when Nathan carefully asked whether they should do that tonight, appears a bit startled by the thought of getting going right away. "If I'm... I mean, I don't think that it'd be that much of a decent idea to head there right away. Dizzy - or Calam - and Gallade, I can see you're all ready, but please understand that we are not yet. It needs an amount of preparation to manage such a delicate task, such a restocking on medicine and such. We're also soon to tire out, the day will be done in few hours. No, how'd it sound if we'd, well... start on things tomorrow morning? We could meet up here at the shack when the sun rises and get going together. If possible, I'd avoid sneaking anywhere near their lab building while it's dark - yes, we can hide in the darkness and use it to our advantage, but Reshiram shall burn me to ashes if Almanac does NOT have any ways to notice unwanted guests even in the dead of night. Pokemon they're using as trained watchers perhaps are also equpped with senses that are finer than ours, some might even spot us in total darkness - Noctowl are capable of such a thing, for example. The labs might even be occupied at night, if they're not the security system is probably enhanced to prevent nasty suprises in the mornings."

It's a bit uncomfortable for Shiva to speak her mind like this, but she is being brave at the moment. Bold, one could even say - yet not rushed or unprofessional, she desires to be as sure about things as possible.


Additional note:
Since I'm also almost sure that there'll be Encounters or battles or bascially things that'll take a Slot for us within Almanac's, I very much prefer to not suffer penalities on dice rolls - which me and Spirit will since we've used our 3 Slots per day. If there'll be fights within the labs or against Scims, they're probably going to be hardcore. UNLESS Iron, you can confirm to us beforehand that whatever we'll do, we won't suffer penalties.

Nathan sighs and fixes Spira with a rather unamused look.  "We're not going there for the purpose of sabotaging anything, Spira.  That being said, though...I'm probably going to bring a pokemon that would be perfect for that job anyways if there might be good reason to do so.  Even better than most Ghost or Electric types in some cases.  I've got two pokemon that could do something like that, though I don't think you'd recognize either of them, Spira."

Shiva and Heart would probably know that Nathan's talking about his Porygon-Z and Rotom.  One an artificial pokemon that's a recent invention, the other a pokemon that had only been discovered fairly recently.  (given that according to Pokemon Platinum, the first Rotom encountered emerged from an electric lawn mower, and Team Galactic's Charon was the first one to properly document Rotom's ability to inhabit electronics and alter its form accordingly, Rotom was probably discovered within the last 20-50 years)

Plus, everyone else doesn't know yet, but if Nathan's going to use those USB drives that Dagny gave him, the electronics they're inserted into kinda have to be functional...



When Shiva suggests they hold off until morning, Nathan thinks for a moment...

"...we'd have to get up really early, then.  We don't want to get caught there when the labs are at their most busy.  If we don't do this tonight, we can't oversleep.  We might have to get up before the sun does, even.  Going in while it's dark isn't just to remain hidden.  It's also to try and ensure we run into as few people as possible.  I doubt the employees there work 24/7."  In addition, though, he also mutters, "...unless Almanac treats their employees as badly as the pokemon they study, that is..."

"Last time I didnt bring a Teleport Pokemon with me, we were in one less escape Pokemon from a battle against a pseudo Mew. I think we might need a quick way to escape that place. We might burst out of the place in case we get caugh, so a quick teleportation is might be useful. Better be prepared than sorry."

"But I can understand what you mean about traps. The traps problably going to make us more vulnerable instead of helping us. And you right Shiva, a Onix its call to much attention. Not to mention in a place with less espace, D-Onix will not able to help very much. D-Pineco still dont have full obedience, so its not safe to with him. Here my party list:"

Xatu
Rose
Gustav
Kecleon
Viktor/Atlas/Honedge
Typhon

"My Eelektrik Typhon was doing very much training with his ability to control magnetic fields, so that could might help us avoid alarms or hide us. Not to mentioned his debuff moves like Thunder Wave to paralyze foes. It can save lifes. And his Coil ability to buff. He is pretty much armed with tricks to help us. Unless anyone could bring another debuff Pokemon, like your Galvantula Grid Nathan. I remember he know Thunder Wave and Eletric Web if I recall. His abilities could help us paralyze foes or reduce the advance. That way, I could place 2 ghosts of mine, problably Viktor and Honedge (Phantom Force and Sneak Attack)."

Flashfoward after the meeting...

After Heart made the meeting with the others and the battle against Shiva, he takes a moment to have a conversation with Koa after he receive treatment with the nurse. "Koa, you did a amazing battle today. You was very close to beat Cottonee. But you still need to work and evolve quite a lot before have another chance to battle against Cottonee."

"Your ability gave a you a great advantage against her, since you can use your STABS. But she still have a huge advantage over you thanks to her powerfull Fairy STABS who is also super effective against you Dragon-type. Next we meet, she will even more stronger. And we need to make you stronger."

"For that reason we must find a really powerfull move who could make you have a better advantage against Cottonee. And I know the right moves who could make you more powerfull:"

Swords Dance
Outraged
Guilhotine
Poison Jab
Iron Tail
Draco Meteor
Hidden Power

"Swords Dance could make your moves powerfull enough to deal real serious damage against Cottonee, even if she set up Cotton Guard. Outraged and Draco Meteor its both the most powerfull Dragon-type moves of existance who almost all dragons can learn. Both have they disavantages with the first make you confuse after use and the second make you reduce your strengh after use. Good news is SD and Ourtraged you can learn with enough experience but Draco Meteor we might have to find someone to teach (and also Draco Metor can learn since its a ??? move of Haxorus)."

"Poison Jab and Iron Tail we might also have to find someone to teach you, since Poison Jab you can learn via TM or Training session, and the second one via Tutoring. Its make me regret not have money back in the time we found that move tutor in the beggining of our journey....*Sigh*. Those two moves its super effective against all fairies in general, and could make strong enough to beat them. Guilhotine its a powerfull one hit move who could make you defeat not only Cottonee but really powerfull Pokemon in general, and you can learn via training. But its a too much risk move and with high chances to fail."

"Hidden Power its something who could depends in luck...each pokemon have his own type of Hidden Power, and we not sure what is yours. We would need someone to check your powers and see what would be your hidden power and even more learn that move."

"So? What you think its the best approach Koa?"

(What moves I could teach to Koa @Iron? I know SD, Outraged and Guilhotine I can teach since its on Koa move list, but is Draco Meteor availabe since its in Haxorus ??? learning? And I could teach Iron Tail or Poison Jab to Koa, despite the second be learn via Tutoring and the other via TM?)

[Spiritmon]

Also @Iron, Heart make a change on his team:

Rose with Black Belt
Gustav with Everlink Armor (Since he have 4 of base HP he can use the armor at will)
Xatu with Wide Lens
Kecleon with Houndoom Fang
Viktor with Miracle Rood (adding him 2 HP)
Honedge with Leftlovers

Just in case, Heart will keep the Miracle Seed in his bag just in case he might need change Viktor Held Item.