[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Mikaruge108]

Change of subject! ".......*cough* So, did you already challenge Angela since we were with her in the audience of the Safari Cup? I...I did - She's really good and tough."

"I've been meaning to challenge her, but haven't really seen much of her since the Safari Cup." He shrugs, "Might challenge her after we get back from the Skull Ruins if I knew where to find her."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Change of subject! ".......*cough* So, did you already challenge Angela since we were with her in the audience of the Safari Cup? I...I did - She's really good and tough."

"I've been meaning to challenge her, but haven't really seen much of her since the Safari Cup." He shrugs, "Might challenge her after we get back from the Skull Ruins if I knew where to find her."

Oh....Is that anger and a good amount of displeasure she makes out Spira's last few words? Shiva's almost sure it is, so she puts on a compassionate expression. "Haha, I see. Yes, she...usually wanders around the nearly-whole region, slaughtering mean Poison Types with her fairies for training. (¯ v¯; )"

A few moments in comfortable silence pass until Shiva lights up and speaks up again:" B...But she's been lurking around Elanor's outskirts yesterday night, I found her there, try that maybe!~ Or, if not lucky, a quick use of useful Teleport from a Psychic Type to Teazel Valley could end up fruitful, she may dwell in the Safari Zone just because, my... my own Fairy Types could, maybe, aid in tracking her too for ya!" ..... "Yes, how'd it be if as soon as we made it out of the Ruins in one piece and saved the region and whatelse, we first cook nice stuff together after your recipe and in return I help you finding Angela, how does that sound, good? .....Deal?" She, yet a bit timidly, sticks out her hand for him to take if he agrees to that.


--------------------
Mechanics:
@Iron, does that sound good for you as well? That trip down the Ruins will likely take one or more in-game Day, but could Shiva track Angela with her own fairies at least to a degree after peace has (hopefully) been restored again? That'd be also a nice chance for that inoffcial rematch with Shiva she herself suggested, after Spira defeated her in Gym Battle of course.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Zigzagoon finds this a fair trade. Leftovers are basically garbage, after all.

"I've heard rumors that two other Pokemon similar to my own have been spotted in Creshire of late ; ) Her name is DUNSERAPH. Like Milotic, her size gives her a definite edge in battle."

"The only Pokemon I'm currently breeding are Zigzagoon. I normally don't sell them, and people normally wouldn't buy them anyway. Don't worry about the mess, it's designed to come back together easily. Zigzagoon will help. Bye now!"

Let me offer some brief snippets on his last scene with Tanuki and the group on Day 77, before I move on to the next day:

- Terra's happy that the Zigzagoon are pleased with his offering, and gives the ones that are brave enough to venture close to him some head pats in gratitude that everything is just swell between them.
- Given that my chara. is not the most Insightful, I'll say that he completely misses what she's alluding too and just nods back, somewhat confused but content with the answer he's been given. Maybe one day he'll see that Pokemon she's talking about, and learn even more about it....
- The sagely monk is understanding of Tanuki's reasoning for not selling Zigzagoon, and respectfully leaves the task of cleaning up her Gym to her and her Ziggy squad, wishing good fortune and battles in the days to come as he depart. If she doesn't want help, then he won't give it, but at least he can give a proper good bye!
- As I stated a little while back, Terra heads straight back to Elanor after his Gym Battle and soon head to bed, only delaying that to search for Shiva to give Helios back to her and thank the lass for lending them in the first place. Tis only the polite thing to do!
- I think he would be present during Gallade's PUMPED! scene, so after a moment's pause he mirrors their enthusiasm by pumping an arm and nodding solemnly and resolutely nodding back to the psychic knight and the rest of the group. He's readying and willing to help and protect them in every step of their journey, no matter the destination, and no matter the circumstance. He will be the guardian of his friend, and he will not fail in his duties.

That should be it, so onward to the next day!

Spoiler

Aside from that Onix thing, it is now Day 78.

Though the day is overcast and threatens rain, everyone is outdoors in a brightly-lit scene. Why? Because the Comet is clearly visible in the morning sky, twinkling like a devil's gaze. As it passes through the outer extremities of the atmosphere, it changes color to a hazy purple, giving a violet cast to Creshire below. It seems quite clear now, according to the news, that the comet will strike somewhere in the Elanor Plains.

And the permit has arrived in each of your inboxes, along with two Steel Balls and two Super Potions for each of you.  Nurse Joy can print that out, but she doesn't make eye contact as she hands it over.

Spoiler

That bright light is probably the reason why Shiva awoke and got up so uncharacteristically early; while she's adamant on not showing it obviously on the outside, she's pretty scared by the ominous Comet getting closer and closer. This is boosted by the news she checks among the daily morning horoscope.

She's quick to finish her business before meeting up with the others, which basically are:

As agreed with Spira/@Mikaruge108 last night, Shiva will stay by his side whenever possible, not that close though to violate any of their personal comfort zone or arise weird looks. She doesn't want to make it look like she is glued to him, but she does want to silently show him that she's there and can be counted on if needed.

As per his usual standards, Terra arose early in the morn, rising out of bed and walking over to his room's window to greet The Millennium Comet's baleful violet light with complete and utter grave severity. Closer and closer, the heaven's envoy inches its way towards Cheshire. This time, it was not bringing the unfulfilled wishes of the populous of these fair lands he finds himself in. Nor was it going to bring about a transformative event that was going to radically change everything, and bring forth a new paradigm for all.

No, this time it was bringing something. A beyond ancient entity, whose's goals, motivations, and machinations are just as alien as they are. A veritable scourge whose shape was undefined and yet absolute, who would sweep across the land and conquer it, subjecting, altering, and ruling it as it pleased. A being who's Strength and unique qualities had become Legend, who's name would be remember by all and feared and/or revered by many.

Deoxys.

It was coming to Cheshire. It was going to change things for everyone and thing, no doubt for the worse. And nothing could stop it.

Nothing, except for his friends.

To do that, they had to venture into the most dreaded and feared places in all of the region, who's own legends, history, and inhabitants have become synonymous with unfettered horror, disaster, and death itself. They had to delve into the very depths of The Skull Ruins, and find the Four Sacred Weapons that were crucial in defeating and/or repelling Deoxys. The future of Cheshire hinged on their success, and failure would doom the land and its people to an uncertain but dire fate. Further compounding the matter were the Scimitars, who's own plans and grudges towards the group would no doubt interfere in their own quest, and the unknown and out of control Legend that Ven had told him about in what seemed like ages ago.

Everything seemed bleak. His group's quest seemed impossible to accomplish in the face of their opposition, or at the very least the odds were heavily stacked against them. Such a unreasonable burden was being placed on his friend's shoulders, and they couldn't just pass it along to someone else. Only they could do it and use the Weapons to fight off Deoxys. 

And yet, everyone seemed determined to see their mission through to the end. To success. Almost to the point of everyone being optimistic about the outcome, or just so thoroughly adamant that it makes no difference.

The mountain of a man looks down at his hands for a moment, before clenching them tightly and returning his gazes back to The Comet, now calmly and stoically staring at it with a sense of peace about him. 

No matter the threats his friends face, no matter how insurmountable the challenges in their path, and no matter what happens, he will be there with them. Protecting them, empowering them, and supporting them in every way conceivable. He would do any and everything for them. For Nathan, Shiva, Heart, and Spira, the wonderful and amazing people he had the good fortune to meet and befriend. Nothing would stop him from doing what was needed to be done to protect and help his friend. He would give everything for them to see them safe and sound. 

Even his life.

Such was his conviction in his duty.....and how much he cherished everyone.

"......It is time. Time......for the most dangerous part of journey. I will not let it end in failure, or their deaths. Promise."

With that vow spoken, Terra turns away from the window, and got ready for this day and many yet to come. His pace, once like the Torterra he caught, was now swift and sure, like a Speed Boosted Sharpedo. Raising Terra's DEX to 3 for 20 XP, which is then boosted to 4 by his DEX Badge pair! The steely brawler is no longer slow, but he's still just as steady.

------

Eventually, Terra would arrive in the lobby, a little after Shiva and Spira got together to converse whatever topic that caught their interest (Which he politely did not listen into, but he none the less waved to both), and was currently browsing his PC with Oinari on his shoulder, his eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to decide which Pokemon he should bring along. The dark dear was gazing curiously at the screen with him, and every so often nudged him to get his attention and explain something in her own foxy way, to which he tried his very best to. She was also feed a marshmallow every now and then, to which she happily nomed on with a cute little smile, as what little kid didn't like sweets?

(Alright, this is where anyone can approach Terra and ask him to do whatever now! Let the plot continue!)

[Dragonstrike]

Eventually, Terra would arrive in the lobby, a little after Shiva and Spira got together to converse whatever topic that caught their interest (Which he politely did not listen into, but he none the less waved to both), and was currently browsing his PC with Oinari on his shoulder, his eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to decide which Pokemon he should bring along. The dark dear was gazing curiously at the screen with him, and every so often nudged him to get his attention and explain something in her own foxy way, to which he tried his very best to. She was also feed a marshmallow every now and then, to which she happily nomed on with a cute little smile, as what little kid didn't like sweets?

(Alright, this is where anyone can approach Terra and ask him to do whatever now! Let the plot continue!)

I'm gonna summarize most of this since there's a lot of info to go through.

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

First things first, Nathan would hand back Terra's Super Rod when he gets to the lobby.  "There ya go.  Line held up well, as expected of a Super Rod."

Presumably, Terra is also probably going to ask about what Nathan caught, if anything.  "...some kind of...eel-like fish pokemon.  Big, apparently toothless jaws.  Seems rather unruly.  Not sure if I'll have the time to train it, to be honest...Pokedex called it a Tubareel.  Water/Dark type.  Almost as big as a Gyarados.  Princess showed up with a small swarm of Combee, though, so we actually managed to beat it before it could do much of anything.  And she finally evolved afterwards, too!  I can't be more proud of how far she's come, to be honest.  Everything she's experienced has finally paid off, and I'm sure she'll put it to good use and be a ruler that her subjects will want to follow willingly."  By the end of all of that, Nathan's smiling, mostly because of how good of a job he thinks Princess did.  And given that Terra's probably read what Ventus had to say about Princess's mother, that's probably a really good sign.

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

Nathan would likely spearhead the group meeting that would almost certainly follow soon afterwards.  To really summarize:

- he'd mention that Dagny had sent the permits, and that everyone should check their email if they haven't already (Nathan might have needed to mention something to Dagny about Spira at an earlier point, but it's probably safe to assume that Spira gets access via a permit somehow)

- reminder that they're officially visiting the Ruins to look for clues about what happened to Nathan's dad and where he might have gone.  Nathan's remains hopeful that Marco is still alive.  And it's also at this point that Nathan would mention the exact area of the ruins where Marco was last seen.  "That Ruin Maniac I talked to three years ago said that my dad was attacked just above an area known as the Kadabra Chambers.  It's apparently home to both the usual Skull Ruins occupants as well as many dangerous Psychic types , including Unown that typically spell out the word KADABRA.  It's infamous for being the last place that many an adventurer were last seen.  Nobody in existing records has ever returned from them, so nobody can say with any certainty what exactly is down there.  It's one of the most dangerous areas accessible from the upper layers of the Ruins.  They say time runs strangely in that place, that ancient artifacts can be found there, that it's possible to make deals with evil and mystical powers there...what is known for certain is that the ceiling is crumbling, and that the 'easy' way to enter them is a long, long fall.  My dad had Skarmory with him as he almost always does, so I don't think that would have been any trouble for him, though.  We've got Telekinesis users and Flying types that we can ride, so getting down there shouldn't be too much trouble for us either I expect.  We need to be prepared for anything, though.  Both there and when we explore other parts of the Ruins...Ghosts aren't the only pokemon that call the Skull Ruins home, after all..."  Nathan doesn't think he has to mention the other reason they're going to the Ruins again.  The Millennium Comet's presence is a big enough reminder as is.

- Everyone coordinates their team compositions, which we've done in the meta thread already, so no need to repeat all of that here.  For one reason or another, Nathan mentions that he's willing to lend out some of his more obedient pokemon if it could be potentially useful for the group as a whole.  (I'll PM you the exact information on Solomon and Ditto @Lord Windos and @Mikaruge108).  Once that's all sorted out, either Nathan or Spira (or maybe a combination of both, since Spira wouldn't necessarily know that Creshirean Honedge evolve with Dusk Stones but has used this technique himself) probably mentions to Heart that it could be possible to use the Dusk Stones in Howl's Gym to evolve Honedge into Doublade. This is probably also the point where we'd loan out pokemon and held items as necessary. Did you want to borrow the Never Melt Ice for Primal Glaceon, @PhantomUnderYourDesk?

- It might also be at this point that Terra teaches the rest of his pokemon FLASH, I guess?  This might be the last chance to do so before we enter the Ruins proper.

Of course, if there are any further questions or comments on any of this IC, feel free to mention those.  I'm mostly just posting an outline of how I think it would go so we can get this out of the way quickly. 

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

And at this point, we're mostly just waiting on Heart to finish his Gym Battle.  Possibly also seeing what might be offered in exchange for Tubareel.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

I'm gonna summarize most of this since there's a lot of info to go through.

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

First things first, Nathan would hand back Terra's Super Rod when he gets to the lobby.  "There ya go.  Line held up well, as expected of a Super Rod."

Presumably, Terra is also probably going to ask about what Nathan caught, if anything.  "...some kind of...eel-like fish pokemon.  Big, apparently toothless jaws.  Seems rather unruly.  Not sure if I'll have the time to train it, to be honest...Pokedex called it a Tubareel.  Water/Dark type.  Almost as big as a Gyarados.  Princess showed up with a small swarm of Combee, though, so we actually managed to beat it before it could do much of anything.  And she finally evolved afterwards, too!  I can't be more proud of how far she's come, to be honest.  Everything she's experienced has finally paid off, and I'm sure she'll put it to good use and be a ruler that her subjects will want to follow willingly."  By the end of all of that, Nathan's smiling, mostly because of how good of a job he thinks Princess did.  And given that Terra's probably read what Ventus had to say about Princess's mother, that's probably a really good sign.





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

Nathan would likely spearhead the group meeting that would almost certainly follow soon afterwards.  To really summarize:

- he'd mention that Dagny had sent the permits, and that everyone should check their email if they haven't already (Nathan might have needed to mention something to Dagny about Spira at an earlier point, but it's probably safe to assume that Spira gets access via a permit somehow)

- reminder that they're officially visiting the Ruins to look for clues about what happened to Nathan's dad and where he might have gone.  Nathan's remains hopeful that Marco is still alive.  And it's also at this point that Nathan would mention the exact area of the ruins where Marco was last seen.  "That Ruin Maniac I talked to three years ago said that my dad was attacked just above an area known as the Kadabra Chambers.  It's apparently home to both the usual Skull Ruins occupants as well as many dangerous Psychic types , including Unown that typically spell out the word KADABRA.  It's infamous for being the last place that many an adventurer were last seen.  Nobody in existing records has ever returned from them, so nobody can say with any certainty what exactly is down there.  It's one of the most dangerous areas accessible from the upper layers of the Ruins.  They say time runs strangely in that place, that ancient artifacts can be found there, that it's possible to make deals with evil and mystical powers there...what is known for certain is that the ceiling is crumbling, and that the 'easy' way to enter them is a long, long fall.  My dad had Skarmory with him as he almost always does, so I don't think that would have been any trouble for him, though.  We've got Telekinesis users and Flying types that we can ride, so getting down there shouldn't be too much trouble for us either I expect.  We need to be prepared for anything, though.  Both there and when we explore other parts of the Ruins...Ghosts aren't the only pokemon that call the Skull Ruins home, after all..."  Nathan doesn't think he has to mention the other reason they're going to the Ruins again.  The Millennium Comet's presence is a big enough reminder as is.

- Everyone coordinates their team compositions, which we've done in the meta thread already, so no need to repeat all of that here.  For one reason or another, Nathan mentions that he's willing to lend out some of his more obedient pokemon if it could be potentially useful for the group as a whole.  (I'll PM you the exact information on Solomon and Ditto @Lord Windos and @Mikaruge108).  Once that's all sorted out, either Nathan or Spira (or maybe a combination of both, since Spira wouldn't necessarily know that Creshirean Honedge evolve with Dusk Stones but has used this technique himself) probably mentions to Heart that it could be possible to use the Dusk Stones in Howl's Gym to evolve Honedge into Doublade.

- It might also be at this point that Terra teaches the rest of his pokemon FLASH, I guess?  This might be the last chance to do so before we enter the Ruins proper.

Of course, if there are any further questions or comments on any of this IC, feel free to mention those.  I'm mostly just posting an outline of how I think it would go so we can get this out of the way quickly. 

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

And at this point, we're mostly just waiting on Heart to finish his Gym Battle.  Possibly also seeing what might be offered in exchange for Tubareel.

The rugged wanderer accepts his Super Rod back with a slight smile, his eyes twinkling with quiet delight and curiosity as he stowed it in one of his many pocket......somehow.

"Thank you, Nathan. Catch anything good?"

One short recount by the boy later, and Terra's face was one of marked surprise, eyebrows hiked up all the way to his hairline and his lips pressed tightly in a thin line. Oinari herself mirrored his reaction much more expressively, eyes wide and her mouth parted in a small 'o' , but that more due to her leader's reaction to the story rather than the contents itself. After all, she had no clue what any of those Pokemon were, or the deeper significance of this ' Princess' ' Evolution, but if they were impressive enough to get a reaction out of the stern and stoic man, then by golly gee it deserved a similar response from her!

It took the mountain of a man minute to slowly chew over the details and all connect them to their deeper meanings, but when he did his expression suddenly broke out into a wide smile as he clasped the scholarly trainer on his left shoulder and gave an quick proud nod of his head.

"Excellent. Knew you would reel in a good Pokemon, but....not expect one so large. Hm.....Tubareel.....also sounds like Pokemon I saw on fishing job, but......different. Maybe different variant of it? *Grin slowly turns wry* Looks like my story came true for you too. Made your own Wailord of a catch, heh heh. "

The trickster kitsune giggled along with him, paw briefly covering her mouth as she did so......before she hastily places its back on his shoulder to prevent her from laughing herself off with a slightly harried look. A pratfall would have been even more funny, but not hers! Definitely not hers!

"Heh heh.....Will make a great partner someday, with time and care. If you think it is too....unruly, or can not make it Loyal and Happy, though......I know someone who would buy them at fair price. A Shieldmaiden named Brazen.  Sold many giant Water Pokemon I caught in Safari Zone through her to her boss, so think she would be interested in Tubareel too."

He then moves on to talk about the queen bee herself, his smile still bright and excited as he did so.

"Glad to hear about Princess' Evolution too. Very glad. Ven and I worried she would turn out like her.....mom, but.......happy that was not what happened. I believe she'll be a great and......benevolent ruler, with all you taught her, and how you raised her. Not like her mom, or.......them.*Grip on shoulder tightens* Be proud, Nathan. You deserve to be."

Needless to say, Terra shares his friend's feeling on Princess's growth into a magnificent Vespiqueen. So much so, in fact....

"*Curious look* Would like to meet Princess someday. See her rule myself, and.....speak with her. Have a.....lesson I want to teach her. One that I think will help her, now and in the future."

Huh......interesting.

-----

With the above scene progressed, time to move on to Terra's own summerized responses to the following group meeting!

- Terra already obtained his Items/Permit earlier, as that was one of the first things he noticed/checked on after going to his PC. He thanks Nathan for the reminder, though.

- Seeing as the sagely monk was around in the past when Kadabra's Chamber was being discussed/Nathan probably filled him in about it more in detail later on in private , he just nods along to the young intellectual words, expression now solemn.

"Yes. Bringing Angie along with me, so we should all be able to fly on her into them......carefully. Oinari *Motions to her, to which she perks up and waves at everyone in response* coming too, to fight off and protect us from Skull Ruin's Ghosts and Psychics. Her Illusion power could help protect us from tricks and......sorcery of the place too. ...I think. *Frowns* Don't know who else to take, though. Hard to choose which partner is best for journey. *Looks at everyone* Help?"

- *Insert the whole group collaborating and coordinating their team's here!* He's particularly surprised he's given the honor of being Solomon's holder (as I don't think Terra would ask for them in specific, but offer to take a Pokemon of Nathan's if it helps them out), but he quickly snaps out of it and promises he'll take good care of them. From Ven's notes he knows they're not entirely Obedient, but since they're a smart and polite enough cookie he's certain that he can work out a deal between them, Nathan, and himself.

- Yeap, its as Dragonstrike says: Terra turns his attention over to Shiva, and with a slight incline of his head formally requests her to teach the rest of his Pokemon FLASH. Due to reasons he was not able to get them all taught by Nathan the day prior, so he wishes to rectify that issue post haste, if they allow him too. I'll leave the details as to how this takes place to Phantom/Shiva!

With that, I think everything is more or less accounted for, besides Heart's battle. It's waiting time now, until we can at long last depart to the Skull Ruins, that dread, dead place...

[Iron]

You can't use a move after the foe has fainted.

Gym Leader Howl vs Heart Round 3

Rock Slide 1
(4)(5)(6)(2)(2)(5)(1)
(4)(6)(6)(1)(6)(2) Mandibuzz faints! The bird is driven right out of the sky by falling rocks. Quetzal fills half the gym and his attacks are hard to avoid!

One more foe to go.

[Spiritmon]

You can't use a move after the foe has fainted.

Gym Leader Howl vs Heart Round 3

Rock Slide 1
(4)(5)(6)(2)(2)(5)(1)
(4)(6)(6)(1)(6)(2) Mandibuzz faints! The bird is driven right out of the sky by falling rocks. Quetzal fills half the gym and his attacks are hard to avoid!

One more foe to go.

Quetzel will stay in the field.

[Lord Windos]

Shortly after the group meeting concerning what Pokemon each member was going to bring was concluded, or when they are about to set off on their quest (whichever is more acceptable) Terra's Pokedex suddenly started to loudly chime like crazy in a synth like tone that had the man immediately yank it out of his pocket with an expression fit to be chiseled to check it, only pausing long enough to explain what the heck was up with it to everyone.

"Emergency message. From Ven."

That should catch everyone's but Spira's attention.

It turned out that the message was in fact a recorded video, simply labeled 'May Fortune Be With You' , with an equally succient message along with it: 'Play this video for the whole group ASAP. Please. - Ven.'

Terra slowly looks up at from his 'Dex at everyone, told them about it, and quietly looked at them.

".....Ready to play video, when you all are."

.....

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

The rugged wanderer accepts his Super Rod back with a slight smile, his eyes twinkling with quiet delight and curiosity as he stowed it in one of his many pocket......somehow.

"Thank you, Nathan. Catch anything good?"

One short recount by the boy later, and Terra's face was one of marked surprise, eyebrows hiked up all the way to his hairline and his lips pressed tightly in a thin line. Oinari herself mirrored his reaction much more expressively, eyes wide and her mouth parted in a small 'o' , but that more due to her leader's reaction to the story rather than the contents itself. After all, she had no clue what any of those Pokemon were, or the deeper significance of this ' Princess' ' Evolution, but if they were impressive enough to get a reaction out of the stern and stoic man, then by golly gee it deserved a similar response from her!

It took the mountain of a man minute to slowly chew over the details and all connect them to their deeper meanings, but when he did his expression suddenly broke out into a wide smile as he clasped the scholarly trainer on his left shoulder and gave an quick proud nod of his head.

"Excellent. Knew you would reel in a good Pokemon, but....not expect one so large. Hm.....Tubareel.....also sounds like Pokemon I saw on fishing job, but......different. Maybe different variant of it? *Grin slowly turns wry* Looks like my story came true for you too. Made your own Wailord of a catch, heh heh. "

The trickster kitsune giggled along with him, paw briefly covering her mouth as she did so......before she hastily places its back on his shoulder to prevent her from laughing herself off with a slightly harried look. A pratfall would have been even more funny, but not hers! Definitely not hers!

"Heh heh.....Will make a great partner someday, with time and care. If you think it is too....unruly, or can not make it Loyal and Happy, though......I know someone who would buy them at fair price. A Shieldmaiden named Brazen.  Sold many giant Water Pokemon I caught in Safari Zone through her to her boss, so think she would be interested in Tubareel too."

He then moves on to talk about the queen bee herself, his smile still bright and excited as he did so.

"Glad to hear about Princess' Evolution too. Very glad. Ven and I worried she would turn out like her.....mom, but.......happy that was not what happened. I believe she'll be a great and......benevolent ruler, with all you taught her, and how you raised her. Not like her mom, or.......them.*Grip on shoulder tightens* Be proud, Nathan. You deserve to be."

Needless to say, Terra shares his friend's feeling on Princess's growth into a magnificent Vespiqueen. So much so, in fact....

"*Curious look* Would like to meet Princess someday. See her rule myself, and.....speak with her. Have a.....lesson I want to teach her. One that I think will help her, now and in the future."

Huh......interesting.

-----

With the above scene progressed, time to move on to Terra's own summerized responses to the following group meeting!

- Terra already obtained his Items/Permit earlier, as that was one of the first things he noticed/checked on after going to his PC. He thanks Nathan for the reminder, though.

- Seeing as the sagely monk was around in the past when Kadabra's Chamber was being discussed/Nathan probably filled him in about it more in detail later on in private , he just nods along to the young intellectual words, expression now solemn.

"Yes. Bringing Angie along with me, so we should all be able to fly on her into them......carefully. Oinari *Motions to her, to which she perks up and waves at everyone in response* coming too, to fight off and protect us from Skull Ruin's Ghosts and Psychics. Her Illusion power could help protect us from tricks and......sorcery of the place too. ...I think. *Frowns* Don't know who else to take, though. Hard to choose which partner is best for journey. *Looks at everyone* Help?"

- *Insert the whole group collaborating and coordinating their team's here!* He's particularly surprised he's given the honor of being Solomon's holder (as I don't think Terra would ask for them in specific, but offer to take a Pokemon of Nathan's if it helps them out), but he quickly snaps out of it and promises he'll take good care of them. From Ven's notes he knows they're not entirely Obedient, but since they're a smart and polite enough cookie he's certain that he can work out a deal between them, Nathan, and himself.

- Yeap, its as Dragonstrike says: Terra turns his attention over to Shiva, and with a slight incline of his head formally requests her to teach the rest of his Pokemon FLASH. Due to reasons he was not able to get them all taught by Nathan the day prior, so he wishes to rectify that issue post haste, if they allow him too. I'll leave the details as to how this takes place to Phantom/Shiva!

With that, I think everything is more or less accounted for, besides Heart's battle. It's waiting time now, until we can at long last depart to the Skull Ruins, that dread, dead place...

"...maybe?  I'm not sure, to be honest.  Tubareel doesn't have any bright green markings or anything.  It just looks kinda...eel-like.  And it has a particularly Strong Jaw, so I'm pretty glad it didn't have a chance to use Crunch, to be honest...it's a very good thing Princess got back in time with reinforcements, or that could have been trouble..."

Nathan considers Terra's offer to help him with trading it, a hand on his chin as he thinks.  A shieldmaiden, huh...?  Hmmmm...

"...to be honest, I am seriously considering trading it.  I could use some more funds, and more items wouldn't be bad either...this is a pretty rare pokemon, though...but not many trainers are going to want to take it if it's as Disobedient as a Tyranitar...but maybe a Shieldmaiden wouldn't mind so much...if she'd take it in the first place..."

Then he nods when he comes to a decision.

"...well, only one way to find out.  Let's see what kinda offer you can help me get for Tubareel then.  'Cuz I sure as heck don't know anyone off the top of my head who would want a super large, super Disobedient fish serpent thing."

As for the Vespiquen thing...Nathan has to think for a moment again...

"...well, there shouldn't be any problems with meeting with her...I can't guarantee she'll take whatever advice you have for her, though, now that she's evolved.  She's spent a looooonnnngggg time thinking about what kind of ruler she wants to be, researching what past kings and queens were like, listening to stories about old royalty that I have...she's definitely going to have a firm grip on her rule, show that she's a strong ruler who isn't afraid to flex her authority if needed.  But also a kind ruler as well, one who cares for her subjects.  As the saying goes: those with power tend to use it.  It's how they use it that's really important, though."

[Dragonstrike]

Shortly after the group meeting concerning what Pokemon each member was going to bring was concluded, or when they are about to set off on their quest (whichever is more acceptable) Terra's Pokedex suddenly started to loudly chime like crazy in a synth like tone that had the man immediately yank it out of his pocket with an expression fit to be chiseled to check it, only pausing long enough to explain what the heck was up with it to everyone.

"Emergency message. From Ven."

That should catch everyone's but Spira's attention.

It turned out that the message was in fact a recorded video, simply labeled 'May Fortune Be With You' , with an equally succient message along with it: 'Play this video for the whole group ASAP. Please. - Ven.'

Terra slowly looks up at from his 'Dex at everyone, told them about it, and quietly looked at them.

".....Ready to play video, when you all are."

.....

*blink blink*

"...what?"

...Nathan hadn't been expecting to hear anything from Ventus.  He knew that Ventus had still been experiencing the lurches too, of course, but...he thought that Ventus wasn't going to be involving himself in any of this if he could avoid it.

...that's why he left the group, after all.  Well, the main reason why...

...Nathan doesn't have much more to say than what he already has.  He's nervously waiting for Terra to play the video.

...Ventus wouldn't be contacting them at all if he didn't think it was important...