[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

"Both need to be turned in to the League.  If you can't get the Pinsirite back from this 'Sage,' he'll have to answer to them.  Pinsirite is not only dangerous, but incredibly rare.   There is no chance the League is going to let any of us hold on to that.  I'll head back to the center of town to wait for Pinsir to show up.  If ANYTHING more happens that's related to that trainer, call me immediately.  I expect I'll hear the full story from you when you return."

Nathan wraps up the phone call before he gets any rowdier, and checks his 'dex to see Shiva's texted him to say Helios should be on his way if she can convince him to help.  He heads back to the center of town with Kirlia, Swiftfire's pokeball at the ready.

Hearing the call end with an abrupt *click!*, Ventus could only stare at the phone, completely baffled as to why Nathan go so worked up over his simple statements. 'Why? Why did Nathan react so negatively to what I informed him of? I thought he would be relieved by my promise to dispose of that vile, treacherous scum, but instead he just berated me for that. ...Well, I suppose I can request such data from him, as I update him on the entirety of my findings. Hopefully, he will have calmed down by the time I make my return trip to town,' the researcher thought, clearly worried for him friend mental wellbeing. It was not like him to overreact like that- the boy is surprisingly strong, even with his many emotional faults-, so it must have been something he said that triggered him so. But what, pray tell?

(To clarify, Ven has no idea why Nathan got mad at him acting like a nutter over Pinsir guy [Ven doesn't know he's a wizard]. In his opinion, he was acting completely normal, and think Nathan is the one that's been disturb by something he said!)

(Assuming that Abra agrees and fulfills the given task; if not, I'll edit this post.)


Once that has been taken care of and the only thing left to do now was to wait for a reply from Nathan, Shiva turned to Ventus who has placed himself down and leaned against a maple beside the pond. Apsis curled up close to him, sightly bruised from the firely battle. Of course both were exhausted... after all this...

"So... You found or saw anything intersting down the pond?" Then, in a more quite voice but with a coy smile, "Thank you for protecting me. Actually, protecting all of us."

Flipping his phone closed and putting it away in his satchel (the only dry thing on his person), he let of a suffering sigh. He wandered by the maple tree beside the healer's hut, Apsis crawling along after him with her quarry in coil. Resting his back against the old plant, Ventus decided to catch his breath for a moment, as multiple bouts of conflict and some lake diving took its toll. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he sat there for a few minutes, before turning to his two companions.

Seeing that Shiva already summoned Helios and command them to escort the Pinsir to the Pokémon Center, he beckoned them over to them, and point the Abra at the fainted insect. "Apsis, would you mind losing you Wrap just a bit? Enough so that Helios can transport this Pinsir over to Nathan's location? I promise on the way back to town, I'll let you hunt a few bugs to munch on, ok?" Staring at her master fornlornly, the regal Arbok just huffed a bit at the request, before following through with it. While she was both hungry and hurt because of this blasted Pinsir, she knew he master would feed her latter. Besides, she remember what the League does to vicous Pokémon. What better revenge than the bug to be buried alive?
(I'll edit this part later, if Abra doesn't teleport Pinsir to Nathan.)

When Shiva approached him and asked about the strange object down there, he let out another sigh, this time in frustration. "The object of interest turned out to be the entrance to an underwater base, with what looks to be a Burn Drive- one of Genesect Data Drives- and a Keystone engraving into it. I couldn't manage to pry the drive lose...wait. Apsis isn't holding Pinsir captive anymore. That means all her sinuous strength is completely free and at my disposal," Ventus slowly said, having a wonderful 'Eureka!' moment.

Turning over to look at Apsis, he gave her a command in the most polite way possible : "Apsis, I know that you are tired from our recent fights, but can you do one last thing for me? Go down into the pond, and find what looks to be a big red rectangle sticking out from a door. Then, I need you to coil around it and try to pry it free from its lodging without damaging it, if possible. If it can't be helped, though, I should be able to fix it, eventually..."
(Since this command is dependent on whether or not Abra will teleport Pinsir to Nathan, I may have to change this block of text as well...)

Just as he was about to get up from his rest and discuss Sage's options with the Mega Stone, he heard Shiva thank him for his protection. Facing her, it was apparent that some of the mania that entered Ventus bleed off at her thanks, and he gave her a genuinely bashful smile. "Oh, I was only doing what anyone else would have done, so your thanks are not necessary. Besides, if I recall correctly, taking down that Mega-Pinsir was a team effort, so please don't sell yourself short, my friend," Ven said, getting up from his position and patting her on the head, before going over to speak with Sage.

"I'd prefer not to give it back, if that's okay." Sage said shuffleing his feet. He liked the idea of having one and it's nothing new for him to wanted by the law. After opening his bag he once more pulled out the PokeBall labeled NOYB and removed the pill case taking two more. He then put the pill case and the Mega Stone inside the ball and returned the ball to the bag, zipping it tight.

Approaching him, the researcher noticed that the man was popping those blasted pill, and frowned at him. He decided not to comment on it for the immedianlty moment, though. 'I don't want him to be inclined against me by beratting him of his overuse of prescription medicine, as I have some important topics to discuss with him. An open mind is an receptive mind, as they say,' Ventus though, schooling his features in a more friendly smile to the brawler. "Sage, while I do not mind you keeping the Pinsirite, as you have more than earned it for the effort you put in that battle, my friend Nathan does not share that same opinion. He is likely going to inform the local League authorities about the Pinsir and Mega Stone, so I only see two option for you at the moment," Ventus said, looking worrily at the man. He hoped they listen to his advice, or they may be in more trouble
than desired.

"The first option is to accompany us to Winesberry Town, and turn over the Pinsirite when everyone conveines with the authorities. You lose a powerful and valuble item, but you won't gain the ire of the Chesire League by keeping it in your possession any longer. Most likely, we'll be rewarded for our part in helping take down that thug, so its unlikely you won't be compensated in some way for it. At the very least, you'll build up good reputation and favor with the League, which is always a boon," he says, before letting out yet another sigh.

"The second option, of course, is that you keep the stone. Now, I don't know if you run afoul with the law before, or commited any crimes, but keeping this item will brand you an outlaw just like that Pinsir guy,"  the researcher says, before looking back and forth furtively and dropping his voice in a whisper that only he and Sage could hear. "I've been on the opposite side of the line before, however, so I have some advice that could help. If you choose to keep this item, I suggest that on our way back, you depart from the group anyway you can, either stealthly or in a flashy manner. When Shiva and I return to town, we will say that on the trip back you abandoned the group, and that we have no idea where you went. After we have finished our business in town and depart, you can meet up with us some distance away from the exit to Wineberry. During the time we are apart, you can stash the Mega Stone away somewhere safe, and say that the guy robbed you and left you to die in the woods, or keep it on you to do as you see fit. My suggestion is selling it on a black market. My group is heading to the port city, so no doubt they have some form of shady business there, so it should be easy to trade it in for something of more use to you," Ventus quietly informed the brawler, making sure he got what he was saying.

Once he was done with the second part of his message, he raised his voice back to normal levels as he continued on like nothing dubious was going on. "Well, since I have to wait on the Shelmet to be treated, you have plenty of time to think over your choices. Give it some though, and tell me your descision. Or don't, if you want to keep me in the dark," he said, placing emphasis on his last word. Plasible deniability is a great assent, especially when one has a friend with an empathetic Pokémon!

Order: Have Apsis attempt to pry the Burn Drive out of the door (Read their dex entry, and tell me they don't have enough strength for the job!), inform Sage of his 'options', and continue to wait on the Shelmet until they are better, then return to town with it and get reward. Then, after we meet up with the authorities and tell them everything, he's going over to the statue and doing a thorough investigation on it. I hope this is the last time I have to type this....