[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Well, as he said in the text, Nathan's waiting in the lobby of the eastern Center.  Once Heart, Valder, Shiva, and Ventus have all arrived, Nathan suggests the conversation be taken to either a back room.

"Alright, now that everyone's found a seat..."  Rhea has curled around Nathan's bag, and Ralts is in Nathan's lap.

"...I've written up a list of things we probably need to be considering before we head into Mt. Sentry, courtesy of Tanuki's recommendations.  Spending some time tomorrow morning gathering this supplies is probably a good idea.  We don't know how long we're going to be down there for, so we need to be prepared."

- Lots of Food and Water (store extra in pokeballs to carry more)
- Light sources (Flashlights, headlamps...)
- Climbing Gear (pitons are particularly useful.  Can be used in combination with metal nets the local pokemart sells to hold back rock slides)
- A couple balls of kite string
- Digging tools
- Pokemon that can summon or find food and water
- Pokemon that can burrow and/or Dig
- Pokemon that can act as a light source (Illuminate, Fire types...)
- Pokemon that can heal others (Heal Pulse, Milk Drink, Softboiled, Wish...)
- Pokemon that can help in additional ways

"I've also written down some of the pokemon I've befriended that I think might be useful to have on hand."

- Calam the Absol (danger sense and Future Sight)
- Starmie (Illuminate and a Water type)
- Solomon the Slowking (there's a lot of Old Unown writing down there, apparently)
- Yule the Skiddo (Vine Whip)
- Swiftfire the Rapidash (dim light source and can generate money over a long period of time with Pay Day)
- Zippy and Princess the Combee (can help gather food and water)
- Grid the Galvantula (Can spin webbing and generate electricity if needed)
- Ditto (self explanatory)

"I'd like to ask for everyone else's input on these two things, too.  If we can figure out what pokemon we're bringing and what preparations we need to make tonight, we'll be able to save some time tomorrow morning."

Nathan passes some pens and papers around.

(...)

  

Receiving the lists with but a nod of his to Nathan, Ventus quietly scanned their contents, mentally reviewing/assessing everything on them to see if they were totally up to snuff or wanting in some capacity. For the 'Essentials List', he found most of the Items/recommendations to be intelligent choices, but one glaring abscene that stood out like a sore thumb was the lack of Medical Supplies on the list, as their were no Pokemon Centers or the like in the depths of a mazelike mountain, so he quickly jotted down a few recommendations that came to mind:

Additions to the Supply List

-At least 4 Potions and/or 1 Super Potion per Individual. Reasoning: Healing will be limited to the supplies we bring and resting periods, so its imperitive we stock up.

- At least 2 Revive for the group. Reasoning: If one of our Pokémon Faints in a critical situation or need to be stabilized immediately, having a few on hand would be a wise.

-At least 1 Max Potion for the entire group. Reasoning: If anyone is critically and/or Lethally injured, and their is no time for long term healing, then this will be a literal life saver.

-At least 2 Antidotes per Individual. Reasoning: Venomous Pokémon like Zubat reside deeply in caves, so having a means to cure this Status is again a literal life saver.

When the tibit about stone tablets from the Anthenum being wiped clean above a certain elevation was introduced by Shiva, he also jotted down a couple other things on the lists:

Additional Supplies and Concerns

-Shielded Storage Containers/Digital Recording Devices. Reasoning: Preserve Information from Anthenum on non-traditional medium, as its likely that the Legendary protections have not been updated to accommodate this.
*Addenium: Possibility that protections not only extend to written medium, but to any knowledge about/coming from the Anthenum, which means that their is a chance that if we discover the place and learn its secret that we will forget about them the moment we pass a critical threshold. Might explain why place has remained undiscovered for centuries, other than general location being in a shifting dungeon like mountain. Possible Counters to this is using Storage Medium, but also giving our Pokémon our notes as Held Items and keeping them contained in their Pokeballs, since they are heavily protected pieces of equipment. Having Solomon to memorize information then be kept contain in his Pokeball in the event our memories are wipe is a viable option, as he can find a way to rely information to us at a later date.
-Excavation Equipment. Reasoning: Might need to unclear obsticales with Pokémon, or retrieve Items that are embedded in rock.

Moving on to Nathan's Pokémon List, the empath was fairly surprised to see the Ditto on their, as those Pokémon were extraordinarily rare in the wilds and highly useful in all manners of tasks. His mind then almost immediately jumped to the possibility that they would later use it to breed his rare/Genderless Pokémon, and once that thought was in place it was all to easy for him to think of one demonic and abominable beast in particular they would like preform conservation efforts on..... The mere inkling alone was enough that he had to actively surpress his first reaction of fear, revulsion, and igdination , keeping his expression neutral and calm as he made a mental note to himself to deal with that at some point in the future.

'Note to self: Start collecting Pokémon, sufficient Poke, and wealth to make an generous offer for the Ditto, with the given reasons being use in research, interest in the species, and to help produce grandchildren for my family members at some later point. Regardless of acquisition, prevent Nathan from obtaining anymore Ditto/those demons by any means necessary in the future, and/or make it prohensive/unwise to breed it with Orthros via informing the scientific community/public of the dangers of that 'species'. While I would like to believe he is not that foolish, given his.......attatchment to the beast and his stubbornness/recklessness, its a non-zero possibility he may wish to breed it in the future, so I must work towards curtailing that possibility however I can. Its already deplorable that he owns the thing despite Shiva and mine's strong reservations, fear, and dislike of the 'breed', but him producing MORE of them.....that will only lead to disaster no matter how well thought out his plans are.....' (This block of text is a thought, and Ven's making damn well sure to shield his feelings while Ralts/Shiva is around)

Mental note made, Ventus then moved on to reviewing the rest of Nathan's/Shiva's/Heart's Pokémon of choice and offering his own written commentary on them (Assuming the lists are passed around/seen by everyone at some point):

Review of Overall Pokémon Selection:

Spoiler

Nathan's Pokémon List
-Calam: Their mountaineer and explorative skills could also come in handy on the trip. Supported.
-Starmie: Illuminate may also attract wild and/or dangerous Pokémon and/or unwanted attention, so keep that in mind. Supported.
-Solomon: Potentially invaluable in helping decipher ancient secrets of Anthenum and/or any other ancient relic. Highly Supported.
-Yule: Grid can create strong make shift ropes that can stick to all number of things, and lack of sunlight might do more harm than good to it in the long run. Unless it can learn Milk Drink in a short period of time, move to exclude from Team Selection; otherwise, pick between them or Grid.
-Swiftfire: The likely prevalence of Ground and Rock types underground will likely make fielding her a more hazardous proposition than not, though her ability to act as a mount and access to highly effective moves could make up for this disadvantage. More Poke is never a bad thing too. Mixed.
-Zippy/Princess: HIGHLY unlikely they'll find flowers or substances that can produce Honey underground, and Starmie/Solomon/Gustav can creature as much water as needed. Their Rock weakness and relative fragility compared to the rest of your Pokémon is also to be noted. Recommend to exclude from Team Selection.
-Grid: The threat of high levels of Ground and Rock Pokémon make them an offensively poor choice, but the utility they provide can more than make up for it in most instances. Supported if Yule is not selected.

Shiva's Pokémon List
-Lilith: Still Disobediant, but her powers/talents are highly useful. Supported.
Tropius: Useful for reasons described, but lack of sunlight may weaken and limit its ability to produce fruit, and Rock types have an equal chance to hurt it as well. Mixed.
-Braixen: May or may not cooperate if I am involved in any matter; Fire typing leaves them highly vulnerable to Rock and Ground types. If a Fire type is needed, either Swiftfire or Rose would be more suitable for treck through mountain. Recommend to exclude from Team Selection.
-Furret: I see no obvious faults to bringing them along, besides being ineffective against Rock types. Supported.
-Azumarill: Huge Power and Help Hand are invaluable assest, and their Water typing will prove most useful throughout the journey. Highly Supported.
-Yena: Similar to Furret, I see no reasons to not bring them on the expedition. Supported.
-Cottonee: Their ability to sustain themselves with Mega Drain and overall usefulness makes them highly useful, but the lack of sunlight may prove to be a detriment. Mixed leaning to Support.

Heart's Pokémon List
-Rose: Ground types may prove to be a detriment, but her strong offensive presence cannot be ignored; can greatly help in clearing debree with Fighting type moves and climbing. Highly Supported
-Gustav: No objections; can provide addition food from outgrown claws. Highly Supported.
-Patret: No objections. Supported.
-Delta Onix: Rock types can still greatly hinder it, and its high Disobedience will most likely make it more of a liability than not on the expedition. Recommend to exclude from Team Selection.
-Trevenaunt: Can sustain itself through Horn Leech, and its prensence/power will prove to be a deterent to Ghosts. Supported.
-Gargyph: I don't know anything about the species myself to offer a informed opinion, except that its Rock typing could possibly be a hinderance. No Opinion.

Once he was down critiquing the party's selection of Pokémon, he moved on to writing down the family member he preferred to take on his trip, as well as the others he does not want to for completion/clarity's shake, and then passed it/his critques around:

My Choice of Pokémon on the Expedition:

Spoiler

Raphael (Togekiss): Flying typing will be a detriment, but they know a wide variety of utility moves that can greatly aid the group, and can heal themselves to a limited extent with Morning Sun.
Apsis (Arbok): Can go without food for weeks if necessary, can hunt local wild Pokémon in caves for sustenance, and is a bulky, versatile Pokémon. They can also help with digging to an extent, and their strength can help clear debree/obsticales. Heat Vision also helps navigate in dark areas, should light sources become an issues
Michael (Breloom): Can readily heal themselves through its ability, Leech Seed, and Absorb, its Fighting type and strength can help clear obsticles, can neutralize almost any threat with Spore, has Access to Mach Punch, Façade and Stone Edge for maximum offensive presence.
Malphena (Misdreavus): Has Levitate and Icy Wind to counter most Ground types, can turn intangible and phase through obsticales to scout ahead, can sustain herself on the fear of Wild Pokémon/us. Has access to Hex and Confuse Ray to deal with almost anything, and Growl to weaken hordes of Pokémon.
Lucifer (Niobat): His Flying type will be a problem, but has access to Iron Tail to counter them, and as a cave dwelling species and natural treasure hunter/Item finder they are well suited for mountain exploration. Also knows Tailwind, which can greatly speed up our expedition through the mountain or help us in battles.
Abaddon (Wobbuffet): Shadow Tag prevents targets from fleeing if that proves necessary, and access to Safeguard can confer Status Protection to our Pokémon if necessary. Their ability to perfectly counter all but Ghost and Dark types is not to be overlooked as well.

Pokémon That I Didn't Choose:

Spoiler

Ao Guang (Kingdra): Water typing and high offensive capabilities offset by the fact they are Highly Disobedient, and I have not yet got to the point with them that its not a garentee they'll restrain themselves from killing Pokémon/turning on us.
Lilith (Quetzoral): High maintenance, does not have high power/utility yet, and Flying weaknes still a liability.
Azrael (Deino): High maintenance, they are too young/inexperienced for such a potentially dangerous trip!
Ramiel (Magneton): Powerful, but limited in what it can do to help; Ground weakness is highly detrimental.
Barbiel (Scyther): Too Disobedient right now to control on trip.; Weakness to Rock types glaring issue.
Haziel (Natu): Teleport is useless inside the mountain, and can't contribute offensively.
Ariel (Corsola): With multiple Water types between the group, her aid is unnecessary.
Haniel (Numel): Threat of causing cave ins with Magnitude make her a non-choice.

In regards to Heart volunteering himself to be hurt to demonstrate his Gargyph's healing and Ralts blasting him with a full force Confusion, he shot both men a rather unimpressed and deadpan look, before saying to them in an unamused and stern tone of voice: "Heart, their are better ways to show how your Gargyph's healing works, like making a superficial wound and letting them repair that. Nathan, I know full well you didn't order Ralts to restrain their Confusion on purpose, and while I know your feel inclined toward some retribution for past greviances, that does not mean its appropriate to do so. Apologize to him now, and don't behave like that in the future."

Besides that interjection, he mostly keeps silent and out of the discussion despite his girlfriend's concerns, as everyone more or less seemed to have things handled without his vocal input. For now, anyway.....

Spoiler

(To you, the same personal rule is set like for Nathan: Not more than 2 points in Move Tutoring Speciallity unless you can give me a good reason. I don't know your plans, but I want 5 points in it for Shiva 'cuz she's serious about a side-career and I simply like describing how Shiva handles her Pokemon when it comes to learning a new move.)

Eventually, after a minute or two of silence, she coughed. "Sure I remember how I helped dear Raphael to learn vicious Nasty Plot. How's he doing, fine? Can he handle that dark move? ....Oh, he...hasn't even used it so far......" *slight sadness over this opening* "Well, ehm, I hope that he hasn't forgotten what I taught him back then. It feels to me that once the Pokemon has successfully learned the move and uses it for the first time during the tutoring, the work's not done yet - to fully master the move, the Pokemon has to use it a few times practically. For example, I got the feeling when I taught my Kadabra Toxic or Azu Ice Beam, they needed one or two turns of using the move until I got the feeling that they got it. These two were moves taught by a TM, but I think it's, well, similar to tutoring via a Tutor."

She paused a little until she continued. "Hmm... I feel like tutoring a move to a Pokemon is something like an advanced training. It's rather different from training a Pokemon to fight, where it's practicing skills or moves it already knows and sometimes acquires a new skill or learns to channel its energies differently. In tutoring, the owner or the Tutor is directly involved and acts as a guide. ....I experienced that a close bond to the particular Pokemon helps quite much, as it likes and trusts you, knowledge about the mechanics of the move you'd like to teach is important as well as you'll have to explain to the Pokemon in question what you'd like it to do, actually. A Pokemon partner that already knows the particular move turned out quite helpful!~ The experienced Move Tutor specialized in Steel Type moves on Route 4 also gave me the advice that if I'd like to move on to the tutoring of Pokemon that I'm not familiar with - like, a customer comes by and will pay for having this or that move tutored on their Pokemon -, a general good and respectful manner like a doctor's bedside manner is the key. Like, my Fairy Types were wary of him and would have problems learning under his guide, it's important to notice such things and not pressure it."

"That's......actually all I can tell you about Tutoring, Ven.... I hope it'll help you." She turns silent then, 'recovering' from the many words she spoke and the matter of speaking about her experiences and thoughts. It's obvious that she'll try to answer questions when they come up or try to help when needed during an actual Tutoring as far as it's possible for Shiva, she seems delighted and even a tad bit proud that Ventus asked.

*Flashback!*

Ven actually pulls out his journal as his fae fancy begins to confer her wisdom concerning Move Tutoring, flicking his wrist to retrieve a pen from.....somewhere and begain jotting down all her advice in neat, precise, and concise script while listenly intently. If she cared to peek at his notes later on/asked to see, this is what they would say:

-Once a Pokémon has learned a move via TM or Tutoring, its recommended that it use the move several times to fully integrate it in their memory.
-Moving Tutoring is similar to regular Training, only more involvement and facilitation on a given person part. Stronger the bond is between the person and a Pokémon, the more effective Tutoring will be.
-Need to have a degree of knowledge and understanding about the Move that is to be Tutored, or teaching it will be ineffective.
-Having a Pokémon on hand that knows a Move that is going to be Tutor will greatly facilitate the teaching of said Move.
-While not strictly necessary, having polite, respectful, and well disciplined behavior when Tutoring a Pokémon is recommended, as is taking into consideration the inclinations and disinclinations of a give Pokémon/Trainer.
-Do not pressure or overly stress a Pokémon into learning a move; take time and patience whenever Tutoring for maximum/non minimum results.

After she had finished saying her piece on Move Tutoring, the researcher cap his pen and put it and his journal away into his satchel with a perky smile that came whenever he learned something new and/or interesting, already absorbing his girlfriend's Knowledge on the subject with a gusto! Ventus gains 1 Rank in Move Tutoring for 6 XP!

He then turns his attention toward Shiva and offered her a charmingly cheerful smile, giving her a small bow of his head as he did so. "Oh you give yourself too little credit, for without your advice I would have been blindly grasping at the basics of Move Tutoring for quite some time! Thank you very much for your generous help, my dearest...."

*Flashback End!*