[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Heart's 'Ditto' easily Transforms into Furret, but proves unable to transform into things that Nathan's Ditto has definitely seen - basically the recipient of Hidden Power needs to be looking right at what he transforms into, lacking a true Ditto's greater versatility.
No Surprise shenanigans either.

Nathan looks at the 'Gargryph' next to him.  "That's three transformations from you today, right?  Are you able to shift back to being a Ralts, Xatu, or your original form as normal after using Hidden Power?" \

I'm away from the notes I'd need to answer that particular question (don't remember what limits I imposed on Ditto's transformations per day),  but Ditto is still able to use his unTransform move as normal even after Hidden Power, and Transform after that.

As soon as Nathan's Ditto moves on to a new form, Heart's Gargryph becomes a Gargryph again.

Further experimentation will also prove that Ditto can only maintain Hidden Power on one target at a time.



For those who are not used to Ditto logic, here's what happened: Ditto's Hidden Power transforms the target into a Ditto! That target can then use Transform, handheld game style.
Yet the true Ditto retains the appearance of the target from Transform.
So it kind of appeared as if the Pokemon switched places.



??????????????? ?? ????

I have a headache now.

*Flaaaaasback!*


Ven couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as Nathan revealed 'Ralts' was actually his noted Ditto posing as them, which in retrospect would explain their relative silence and lack of empathic action that was usually so characteristic of them. However, he couldn't find himself all to surprised or impressed by this stunt, as the boy had tried his patience/tolerance to the limit and had thoroughly soured his good cheer and humors throughout the meeting, rendering the metamorphic blob's reveal less than stellar or surprising to the researcher. That, and Transformation was simply what a Ditto did , so while the feat/trickery was impressive, within the context of its species....not so much.

Their demonstration of its Hidden Power, meanwhile, VERY much fascinated/thrilled Ventus, as having the ability to confer even limited Transformation had a suite of research, strategic, and logistical applications just waiting to be explored! Ditto having to maintain its Transformed and its Transforme's state and it being limited to one target Pokemon at a time did admittedly disappoint him  when those facts came to light, but overall the genetically varied creature's HP still a invaluable quality to have. 'All the more reason for me to acquire it from Nathan ASAP, but until then I'll have to bide my time and build my wealth for that opportunity.....'

Spoiler

After a few minutes of writing (and after Gargryph is recalled), Nathan looks up from his papers.

"Heart, I'm going to be honest with you.  I don't think Gargryph will be as useful as initially thought.  If its Hidden Power only works on humans, because 'Ralts' definitely still had Trace, then it could only heal itself and us if we got in a jam.  By contrast, we have two Heal Pulse users and a Ditto if we need on the spot healing that badly."

Nathan looks at Valder.  "You have two empty party slots.  And while Frogadier could be useful, we already have 4 other water types in the group.  Would you be fine with leaving Frogadier behind?  If we need his abilities, I could try to get Ditto to Transform into him from memory."

Nathan looks at Ventus, then at Heart and Valder (@Spiritmon and @Nylon).  "I do think the Combee will be useful.  Their sense of smell is amazing, and they have plenty of experience as gatherers.  Zippy and Princess helped me make some candles a few days ago.  Zippy's smelled like a field of flowers, and Princess's smelled exactly like a beehive.  They should be able to help us with the food situation, and between them, Tropius, and Clawitzer, I think we should be fine...Valder, would you mind holding on to Starmie and the bees for this trip?  I think you should be able to get the most use out of them while we're down there.  You'd have a light source, and your high strength training would help make up for the bees' low powered moves.  Or I can loan you two other pokemon, maybe, if you don't want to worry about Princess evolving while we're down there, since I don't know when she's going to do so...and Heart, would you mind holding on to Grid for the duration?  I'd be free to bring my other 6 listed pokemon if we did this, and I don't think we'd lose much by doing so."

The sociologist had to nod his head in silently/somewhat grudging agreement to Nathan's objection to including Gargryph, as while he knew next to nothing about it and its kin besides what had been discussed/researched about it in this meeting (which mildly annoyed him to an extent; it was his job to be in the know about all Pokemon....), all that scant information pointed towards it being a less useful choice to bring along the trip in comparison to another Water type like Mudkip/Netune or Koa. Having the ability to regenerate and not requiring much in the way of sustenance were useful qualities to be sure, but given that Ralts/Gustav could covered non-Potion healing and Gustav/Tropius provided a steady source of nourishment beyond what they take, Gargyph was plain overshadowed.

However, when the young scholar made his opinion known about excluding Frogadeir from the trip and his continued insistence to bring along the honeybees on the trip, that was when Ventus decided to speak up and offer his own rebuttal in a calm, respecting, and placating tone of voice.

"Nathan, I have to respectively disagree with having Valder leave behind Frogadeir and taking Princess and Zippy along on the trip. While we do have a dearth of Water types among us, that is not necessarily a bad thing in this situation, as the depths of Mt. Sentry no doubt are home to a myriad number of Rock and Ground types such as Gravelar, Sandslashes, or Onix that having more Water types could be more a boon than a burden. Frogadier also has access to Bubble and Quick Attack for powerful widespread damage and quickly scout out routes, and the species is renowned for their espionage and adaptive/flexibility in most any environment, especially in dark, winding areas like Mt. Sentry's tunnels. Therefore, I recommend that Valder keep them on his team rooster. If Starmie is to be added to his team, I recommend that Mamo be put up instead."

"As for why I still maintain my stance that Princess and Zippy should be excluded from this expedition, its for these reasons: everything they could offer is already being provided by the other Pokemon we've selected or could make up for ourselves, they are frankly horribly suited offensively and defensively for the trip, and in the case of Princess she a liability to everyone save yourself. Calam, Gothitelle, Lucifer, Frogadier, etc. amply provide in scouting and precautionary measures with their various unique traits, while Tropius and Gustav plus whatever else food we bring along should suffice so long as we carefully ration. In the event that we do somehow run out of food......well, as much as you loathed to hearing this Nathan, we could always hunt the local wild Pokemon for sustenance."

" Regarding their combat capabilities, your Combee frankly almost have none if I had to make a logical guess, and their Bug/Flying type means that any and all Rock types will make short work of them. Zippy in particular will suffer the most, as his small size and the fragility it confers means any attack that lands will put him in a perilous condition.  Even if Valder fighting style and training boosts their offensive capabilities, they can't make too good use of such Strength with their sparse movepool, and that includes if Princess evolves into a Vesipquen, and they lose out on the Dexterity your fighting style provides. Using them for scouting or the like will most likely result in them falling prey or being confronted by the various species of cave dwelling Pokemon, as Combee wandering around dark tunnels look to be a tempting and easy meal for predator. If I recall correctly, that exact situation happened once before when that Scimitar's Pinsir captured and nearly killed Princess, so you can not say my warnings are without merit."

"Finally, there is as you said the matter of Princess evolving in......Vesipquen during our expedition. At that point, whatever arguments you could have made about her food finding and scouting abilities become null or vastly limited, and any benefits that Valder could provide her are almost immediately rendered moot by her species extremely high Disobedience. This would mandate that you have to take her into your party, which defeats the point of loaning her to him in the first place disregarding the lose of her pre-evolution's traits. I also frankly rather not have to deal with any attempt of extending her authority over the rest of the group like her mother (he says the name like its venom dripping from his lips) nearly did to me and Ralts. If that is not a problem, then the points I made about her offensive and defensive capabilities still stand as a deterrent to including her or Zippy on this trip."

"Overall, for those reasons described, I feel it would be the best for everyone if they were entirely excluded from this expedition. If you feel the need to still include them regardless, then I would say that you have to carrying them both yourself, as the group should not be forced to care for Pokemon that are a less than optimal choice, as with Delta Onix. By not taking them along you could also freely afford to bring Grid or your other Pokemon in exchange."

After that fairly long winded speech, several times which he paused to catch his breath and make sure everyone was still paying attention, Ventus lapsed into silence, letting other speak on the topic while he silently reviewed his own tallylist for what to buy/bring along for the (hopefully NOT) perilous trip into Mt. Sentry....

Spoiler

The recalling of the noble stony gargoyle and Heart speaking up once more concerning what Pokemon to bring instead of this Tandormon caused Shiva to calmly look up from the papers and the notes, especially the mentioning of more expected Rock and Ground Types lingering down the mountain. To be honest, she too does feel that they'll meet prominently these Types down there, but since she has seen much different Types already within Mount Sentry already, she mentally perpared herself for everything...

"Heart, I feel we already have enough Grass and Water Types with us to defeat any Rock and Ground Types we may discover down there. But... you remember that Druddigon I met? In case there might be more dragons down there, having a Dragon Type ourselves as an attempt to counter it alongside the other moves that deal decent damage. Especially when Lucifer doesn't know any Dragon Type moves yet, does he, Ven? To my knowledge, they sadly don't learn any naturally until they evolve." ... "Though, bring what you personally feel useful for yourself."

Spoiler

"Thats a excelent suggestion Shiva. And Koa have a access to Dragon Dance to increase his strengh and speed, and powerfull offencive moves like Dual Chop and Slash and very soon Dragon Claw. Even young he have a great strengh. And depending what gender of pokemon we find there, his Rivalry ability will bring us a extra-strengh against male pokemon. And I think you really should consider bring Grid or not Warren. Since I already taking Ventus Lucifer with me, have more than one other person pokemon would be problematic with the chance to not listen to my orders. And I already have a bill with disobedience pokemon, thank you very much."

Then Heart look again in Ventus direction. "Mind if I join with you to buy the potions Ventus? Is there some things I must discuss with ya before anything."

Ventus gave Shiva a small nod of his head at her questioning about Lucifer's lack of Dragon moves until he evolves, along with giving his wordless agreement that Koa should be brought along for the reasons his girlfriend and Heart had argued. He quietly declined the collector's offer to care for his devil bat of a brother, however, but then re-stated that he could have Abaddon with him if he still had the space for them while he takes care of another non-Disobedient Pokemon like Ditto. 

When the pun lover asked to meet up with him during his supply run, a look of curiosity flashed across the empath's for a moment, before it was replaced with a simple smile and a nod of his head as he said: "Be my guest, Heart. I could always use some good company."

The boy's mounting frustration with everyone having their own objections and critisims to his carefully laid out plans + designs was so apparent to him that he didn't even need his empathy of high Insight to tell that they were about to blow a gasket. This, coupled with Nathan all but storming out with a uncanny amount of grace and 'taking their ball home' (as it were) further increased his own disappointment and vexation in them, causing him to loudly sigh and rub his eyes with both hands after they left.

 "By the Tao Trio, I know Nathan is about as stubborn and obstinate as they come for a boy of his age, but if he can't accept our own advice or compromise with us without that much mulish difficulty or taking a sullen attitude, then how can we expect to effectively cooperate with one another? *Sighs* We'll just have to do as we always have, then: learn to work with or around him and his choices as necessary, however much I loathe such measures are required...."

His voice is muttered by his hands, but it should be loud enough for both Shiva and Heart to clearly hear.

Ventus simply gave a nod of his head and a kind smile towards his most blessed girlfriend as she conveyed her request, electing to record a voice message before he went to bed detailing Shiva's plans and sending it to the boy. Then, and only then, did the researcher depart towards his shared room with his cherished lover, ready to put that stressful and unpleasant meeting behind him and rest for the group's upcoming expedition tomorrow.....

*Flaaaaaashback End!*

Morning of Day 56

After waking up at the crack of dawn and going through the now comfortable morning routine/breakfast with Shiva ('Oh I love it when she greets me with a smile'), Ventus bid temporary farewell to his fae fancy as he departed to the Cress City Pokemart to make his purchases, waiting just long enough for Heart to tag along with him (Ergo, this is your chance to have a conversation with Ventus, @Spiritmon !). Once he arrived and discovered that Digging Equipment was going to prove more costly than he first suspect, the researcher to make a small change to his purchase list: he was going to forgo buying a Great Ball and instead purchase two Pickaxes, along with purchasing 3 Potions, 3 Pokeballs, 1 Super Potion, 1 Antidote, and 2 Repels for a total cost of ( (200*6) [Potions and Pokeball Price = 200] + (700 * 2 [Super Potion + Two Pickaxes cost)+ (400*2 [Repels) + 100 = 1200 + 1400 + 800 + 100 ) = $3500 Poke , leaving him with only $2435 Poke remaining. Between contributing to the Mr. Finder Fee Fund and purchasing supplies the Poke he got from selling Chandelure has dwindled almost nill, which annoyed his fiscal/frugal side greatly, but he rationalized that 'Better to spend and be prepared, then don't and not be....'

The researcher then meet up with the rest of the group wherever location they pre-ordained , ready and willing to begin their expedition!

Current Party Line Up: Raphael, Apsis, Michael, Malphena, Lucifer, Abaddon; may be subject to change depending on whether or not Nathan changes his mind about including the Combee and allows Ventus to look after Ditto.

Order: Offer some last criticisms, record a message to Nathan detailing Shiva's plan, make the purchases described and have a flashback conversation with Heart, then meet up with the rest of the group along with Mr. Finder and head into Mt. Sentry! Lucifer will be out and flying about in the caves for now, serving as both a scout and looking for anything interesting, while Ven stays close to Shiva for obvious reasons. Well, this it is mates! Into the breach we go!