[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan trips again in his pursuit of Ponyta! "Gah!" As he lands, Ralts forces his way out of the pokeball, having sensed the presence of the strange flowers. As he gets up, he can sense Ralts nearby. "What the...of all the times for this to happen..." As he turns around, he sees Ralts is examining one of the flowers very carefully..."It's one thing after another, isn't it? First the chase, then the mud and ash, and now this..." And that's when what Ralts is feeling hits Nathan. There's an incredibly strong air of focus around the little pokemon. "Huh? Ralts, are you okay?" When Ralts doesn't answer, Nathan gets a little worried...when he turns around to check on ponyta's location though, he's just in time to see Ponyta running towards the long grass. "Uh oh. That's not good...but I can't just leave Ralts here either..."

Nathan is wracked with indecision, and time is hard pressed too. It's either he loses Ponyta to figure out what's going on with Ralts, or he leaves Ralts with the flowers so he can continue the pursuit before she causes any extensive damage to the area. Ralts wouldn't be as hard to track down later, but he'd feel terrible if he left him behind...as much as it pains him to choose between the two, Nathan makes a decision.

"Ralts, I'm sorry I'm about to do this, but...I need to catch up to Ponyta. I'll be back soon, I promise! Use Confusion if you have to defend yourself!" Hoping Ralts had heard him or at least sensed what he'd been feeling, Nathan sprints off after Ponyta again, this time with a little more desperation and fluster, for more than one reason...

"Ponyta! This isn't just a game any more! If you don't stop this now, you could cause a lot of trouble for everyone, including yourself!" Maybe the third time would be the charm? Nathan hoped the horse wasn't foolhardy enough to risk her own safety for the sake of continuing a 'game'...and all the while, he also hoped that Ralts would be okay on his own...this decision was going to tear him into pieces later...